Who Is Gurpatwant Singh Pannun? All You Need To Know About The Sikhs For Justice Founder
A UK media report has claimed that there was an assassination attempt on one of the most recognisable faces of the Khalistani separatist movement, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, in the US.
According to the Financial Times, there was a plot to kill Pannu, and the US had issued a diplomatic warning to India over the matter.
Who is Gurpatwant Singh Pannun??
Pannun is an American citizen born in Khankot village on the outskirts of Amritsar, Punjab.
He is a lawyer by qualification but is most known for his role in the Khalistani separatist movement.
Pannun is also the founder of Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), a US-based Khalistani separatist group that has been behind the referendum called Referendum 2020 in several countries in support of a separate homeland for Sikhs in Punjab.
What is Sikhs For Justice?
SFJ was founded in 2007, and Pannu officially holds the posts of legal advisor and spokesperson of the outfit.
SFJ's name refers to the community's demand for justice over the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi following the assassination of the then Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her bodyguard.
According to SFJ's website, the organisation was founded "with the express intent of achieving self-determination for the Sikh people in their historic homeland in the region of Indian-held Punjab and establishing a sovereign state, popularly known as Khalistan."
In 2019, India banned the Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), and in 2020, Pannu was declared a terrorist.
How?Pannun targeted Indians abroad
Earlier this year, following the killing of Khalistani separatist Harddep Singh Nijjar in Canada, allegedly by Indian operatives, SFJ had issued 'kill posters' with the names and details of Indian diplomats.
"Yes, we will hold Sandhu-Verma-Doraiswami-Malhotra-Vohra, the Indian diplomats in the US, Canada, UK, Italy and Australia responsible for the assassination of Nijjar," Pannun said in a video.
Following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegation in September that there were credible allegations that Indian agents were behind the killing of Nijjar, Pannu had issued a threat to Hindus in the country.
"Indo-Hindu leave Canada; go to India. You not only support India, but you are also supporting the suppression of speech and expression of pro-Khalistan Sikhs", Pannu was heard saying in a video.
Why NIA seized Pannu's properties
In September, the National Investigation Agency had confiscated the properties of?Pannu?under the?Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.
The seized properties include the residence of Pannu in Chandigarh and agricultural land in his ancestral village, Khankot in Amritsar.?
Pannu's threat to Air India
Earlier this month, Pannu had released another video calling on Sikhs to not fly on Air India from November 19, suggesting that they might get killed.
"We are asking the Sikh people not to fly via Air India. From November 19, there will be a global blockade.?Air India?won't be allowed to operate. Sikh people, don't travel by Air India after November 19. Your life can be in danger," Pannun said in the video.
The threat brought back memories of the?Air India Kanishka Bombing?of 1985 when Canada-based Khalistan terrorists blew up an aircraft carrying 329, mostly Canadian citizens of Indian origin.
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