Pro-Khalistani extremist and Sikhs for Justice chief Gurpatwant Singh Pannun has alleged that the Indian government wants to kill him “for running the global Khalistan referendum voting campaign”.
“The Indian government and the Modi regime want to kill me, they want to eliminate me for running the global Khalistan referendum voting campaign,” Pannun told Time in an interview.
Pannun, a dual citizen of Canada and the US, is a lawyer and co-founder of Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), a proscribed outfit that calls for an independent Sikh nation called “Khalistan” in the Indian state of Punjab. He was designated a terrorist by the Indian government for challenging India’s sovereignty.
His allegations against the Indian government of hatching a conspiracy to kill him comes in the backdrop of a Financial Times report that claimed the US authorities have thwarted an alleged assassination plot targeting Pannun and warned Indian over concerns of Indian government’s involvement.
The report also claimed that the matter was raised by US President Joe Biden with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during their meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in New Delhi in September this year.
Pannun said that the assassination plot is not about him anymore and that it is a challenge for American sovereignty.
“It is a threat to freedom of speech and democracy in America itself. But I’ll let U.S. authorities speak more on this,” he added.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) earlier this month booked Pannun for releasing a video threatening Ai India passengers. He, however, argued that he was calling for the “boycott” of Air India.
“I was saying “boycott” Air India, but the whole Indian narrative shifted to “bomb” Air India. Somebody has to be a zombie to not differentiate between boycotting and bombing,” he stated.