According to sources reporting to Financial Times, the U.S. government sent a strong rebuke to the Modi government after his visit in June, accusing involvement in an attempted assassination of Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. According to their sources, the Federal Bureau of Investigation thwarted the assassination attempt. This story from Financial Times comes only two days after the Indian National Investigation Agency (NIA) registered a case against ‘listed individual terrorist’ Pannun of the SFJ over his latest viral video threatening the passengers flying in Air India and the airlines with a global blockade and closure of its operations from November 19.
In his video he stated: “We are asking the Sikh people not to fly via Air India on November 19. There will be a global blockade. On November 19, don’t travel by Air India or your life will be in danger.
This rebuke is sure to polarize U.S.-India relations just as Canadian accusations in October over the actual assassination of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Vancouver. This Canada-India spat caused the Modi government to remove more than 40 diplomats and a wave of anti-Trudeau sentiment to wash over India.
As of this publication, there has been no public response from the Modi government.
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun is one of the main leaders of the Khalistan movement, which advocates for a religion-based separate state carved out from Punjab and many neighboring areas in India, to be known as Khalistan. He is the legal advisor and spokesperson for Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), which aims to promote the idea of a separate Sikh state. As of July 2020, the Ministry of Home Affairs of India has declared Pannun a terrorist on the grounds of sedition and secessionism, and has requested an Interpol red notice for him.
