India on Thursday strongly condemned the threat issued by designated terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, founder of the banned Canada-based Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), asking people to avoid taking Air India originating from and terminating in Canada after November 19 as their ‘lives may be in danger’ and asserted that Indian security agencies were doing everything to ensure the safety of passengers.
At a media briefing here, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi, without naming any specific country, said India has been cautioning foreign governments against the activities of radical and terrorist elements like Pannun.
”We will continue to ask foreign governments not to provide any space to such extremist elements,” he added.
Pannun recently claimed that Air India would not be allowed to operate on November 19. He noted that the final of the Cricket World Cup would also be played on this date and claimed that the Delhi airport would be closed and renamed.
The development came amid growing strain in India-Canada ties ever since Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused Indian government agents of involvement in the killing of separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar – a claim that New Delhi dismissed as ‘absurd’.