Don’t travel by Air India on Nov 19 life will be in danger

“Don’t travel by Air India on Nov 19, your life will be in danger”: Khalistani leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun issues threat

Pro-Khalistan extremist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun reportedly warned Sikh people not to fly via Air India on November 19. “Doing so can put your life in danger,” he can be heard saying in a purported video that went viral on social media.

Who is Pannun?

Pannun is one of the founders of the US-based separatist group banned Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) and actively lobbies for a separate state for Sikhs, which they call Khalistan, in the US, Canada and the UK.

He claimed that Air India would not be allowed to operate on November 19. It is the same day 19th November on which the final match of the World Terror Cup will be played.

Pannun claimed that Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport would remain shut on November 19 and its name would be changed. He highlighted that this is the same day on which the final match of the ongoing Cricket World Cup will take place.

This is not the first time that SFJ chief Pannun has issued a threat. In September, he urged Hindu Canadians to leave Canada amid a diplomatic row between India and Canada over the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, in a video that circulated on social media, said pro-Khalistan Sikhs have consistently shown loyalty to Canada. He then went on to threaten Indo-Canadian Hindus, urging them to leave the country.

Following the spread of a hateful speech by Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, Hindu Forum Canada’s Lawyers asked the Canadian Immigration Minister to ban Pannun’s entry into Canadian territory.

Hindu Forum Canada’s Lawyer wrote to the Minister of Immigration of Canada, Mark Miller, stating that Pannun’s recent comments have caused distress and trauma not only within the Hindu community but also among Canadian citizens at large.

Hindu Forum Canada is a not-for-profit humanitarian organization based in Ontario that advocates for policies that enhance the well-being of minority groups in Canada.

Earlier in September, Khalistani secessionists held a so-called ‘Referendum’ in Surrey, British Columbia. Designated terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the founder of the banned Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), was present at the gathering of the Khalistani separatists held at the Guru Nanak Singh Gurudwara in Surrey, Vancouver.

India and Canada have been strained after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged the involvement of “agents of the Indian government” in the killing of Najjar in June.

India had rejected the allegations as “absurd and motivated” and expelled a Canadian diplomat in a tit-for-tat move over Canada’s decision. Canada has yet to provide any public evidence to support the claim about the killing of Najjar.