Latest news with #Pannun
Time of India
3 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Sikh groups plan protests during PM Modi's G7 visit to Canada
LONDON: Sikh groups tied to the Khalistan movement are preparing a wave of protests against PM Narendra Modi during his visit to Canada for the G7 summit at Kananaskis in Alberta from June 15 to 17. Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), a banned outfit leading an unofficial global Khalistan referendum, released a video vowing to 'ambush Modi politics from landing to take-off'. SFJ's general counsel Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, designated a terrorist by India, accused Modi of exporting 'transnational terrorism from Pakistan to Canada'. 'I want to thank Mark Carney — more of a businessman than a Canadian PM — for giving pro-Khalistan Sikhs a historic opportunity to ambush Modi's politics right in front of G7 nations,' Pannun said in the video. SFJ claimed the protests aim to force G7 nations to hold Modi accountable for the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen and Khalistan advocate killed last June, as well as an alleged 'murder-for-hire' plot targeting referendum organisers. Pannun also accused India of unleashing Operation Sindoor, which he described using Pakistani terminology as a 'terror attack on Pakistan targeting masjids'. India conducted precision airstrikes under Operation Sindoor on sites tied to Pakistan-backed terrorism, a fortnight after the April 22 terrorist attack in J&K's Pahalgam that claimed 26 lives — all men, mostly tourists. Sikh Federation Canada also condemned Modi's invitation, urging Ottawa to rescind it unless New Delhi cooperates with criminal probes linked to Nijjar's killing and other alleged transnational plots. The group demanded targeted sanctions on Indian brass, including Union home minister Amit Shah. It further called on Canada to 'publicly reaffirm that it will demand accountability from India for documented interference, violence, and assassination plots in Canada'. Canadian govt has yet to respond to the protest calls or the demand to revoke Modi's G7 invitation.
Hindustan Times
03-06-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Tension after Ambedkar statue defaced in Phillaur village
Two months after a similar incident, a statue of BR Ambedkar, the architect of the Constitution, was vandalised at Nangal village of Phillaur sub-division in Jalandhar district on Monday, triggering tension. CCTV cameras captured a masked man defacing the statue and efforts are on to arrest him. Banned outfit Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) chief Gurpatwant Singh Pannun took responsibility for the incident in a video posted on social media, claiming that the Constitution of India was 'responsible for the attack on Akal Takht (the supreme temporal seat of the Sikhs) during Operation Bluestar in June 1984'. SFJ activists had vandalised another Ambedkar statue at Nangal village on March 31. The administration had installed protective glass around that statue. Amritpal Bhonsle, a local Dalit leader, said the accused was caught on camera smearing black ink on Ambedkar's face before spray-painting anti-Constitution and pro-Khalistan slogans on the boundary wall of the nearby government school. 'It is unfortunate that the such an incident has happened again in the village,' Bhonsle said, adding activists of Dalit organisations are holding a meeting to decide on the future course of action. He demanded the arrest of the accused at the earliest and strict deterrent action. Deputy superintendent of police Sarwan Singh Bal said a case was registered against Pannun and other unidentified miscreants under Section 113 (terrorist acts), 299 (hurting religious sentiments) 196 (promoting enmity) and 148 (conspiracy to intimidate the government) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at Phillaur police station. 'We are gathering CCTV footage from nearby areas to trace the route the accused took. He will be arrested soon,' the DSP said. On April 4, two SFJ activists, Sukhbir Singh and Avtar Singh, both residents of Nurpur Chatha village in Jalandhar district, were arrested for defacing the statue on March 31. The police had booked Pannun also in the case. Monday's incident comes four months after a statue of Ambedkar, who led the Dalit rights movement, was vandalised on Heritage Street leading to the Golden Temple in Amritsar on January 26, triggering tension in the border state. In Punjab, Dalits constitute 32% of the total population, a figure roughly double the national average of 16.6%. The Doaba region, including Jalandhar district, has a sizeable Dalit population and the move by the separatist outfit is seen as a mischievous bid to spark off social and communal tension in the state. After the Republic Day incident when a youngster climbed atop the statue in Amritsar and tried to vandalise it, the authorities decided that all Ambedkar statues would be secured with toughened glass to prevent any damage to them. Phillaur MLA Vikramjit Singh Chaudhary, who visited the spot, strongly condemned the act. 'It is an attack on the soul of our Constitution, our democracy, and the values of equality and justice that Ambedkar stood for,' he said. He added that the people of the region, whether Dalit, Sikh, Hindu, or Muslim, will reject this divisive and hateful agenda. 'We are proud of our shared legacy of resistance against injustice, not hatred against one another,' he said.
India.com
18-05-2025
- Politics
- India.com
‘Unreliable Ally': US Actions Push India Closer to ‘No-Drama' Partners Russia, France?
US foreign policy expert Michael Kugelman recently highlighted contrasting dynamics in India's bilateral relationships with key global players. Drawing from past incidents and diplomatic developments, he pointed to multiple moments over the past two decades that have tested Indian public perception of the United States as a strategic partner. While India maintains steady and long-standing relationships with countries such as Russia and France, ties with the US have at times encountered turbulence. Kugelman referred to this difference by describing India's interactions with Russia and France as 'no-drama', in contrast to more complex and occasionally strained episodes with Washington. There've been times over the last 2 decades when in India, public trust in US as a partner is called into question & contrasted w/India's reliable, no-drama relationships w/Russia, France etc. Khobragade affair, late US response to India COVID crisis, Pannun. And right now. — Michael Kugelman (@MichaelKugelman) May 15, 2025 In each case, these moments have been smoothed over on policy levels. But public perceptions of the US and its reliability as evinced by some key Indian constituencies continues to be an issue that flares up periodically. Properly addressing this remains a work in progress. — Michael Kugelman (@MichaelKugelman) May 15, 2025 He cited a few examples – the 2013 'Khobragade affair', in which Devyani Khobragade, then India's deputy consul general in New York, was arrested on charges related to visa fraud. The incident had led to a diplomatic standoff and public outcry in India. Another reference was made to the COVID-19 pandemic, during which the US response to India's health crisis drew criticism for its perceived delay. More recently, the 'Pannun case' – a reported plot to assassinate Khalistani leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, allegedly involving Indian agents – resurfaced concerns about bilateral trust. The US responded with a diplomatic warning to India, while authorities in India stated that they were reviewing the shared intelligence. Kugelman's comments also came in the backdrop of recent claims about former US President Donald Trump's involvement in India-Pakistan relations. According to reports, Trump intervened during a cross-border escalation between India and Pakistan, using trade-related pressure to influence India's response. While a ceasefire was eventually agreed upon, his public assertion of credit reignited discussions about the consistency and reliability of the US as a strategic partner. Other analysts also weighed in. Strategic affairs expert Brahma Chellaney said the episode highlights broader concerns about strategic alignment. Meanwhile, former Pentagon official Michael Rubin said that Trump's comments may have economic repercussions, particularly for US defense firms eyeing India as a key market. These developments together add to the ongoing discourse about India's approach to global partnerships, particularly in terms of trust, predictability and long-term cooperation.
The Print
17-05-2025
- Politics
- The Print
Pakistan tried hard to instigate Sikhs against India during Operation Sindoor
These allegations were categorically disproven when Prime Minister Narendra Modi made an unannounced visit to the very Adampur airbase on 13 May. Photographs of Modi standing in front of a fully operational and intact S-400 air defence system—the very system Pakistan claimed to have destroyed—exposed the lie. Satellite imagery from multiple independent sources further confirmed that there was no damage whatsoever to any Indian Air Force bases, including Adampur. In a particularly egregious example of propaganda, Pakistan's Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, made an astonishing claim on 10 May. He alleged that 'India launched six ballistic missiles from Adampur,' with one landing 'in their own general area of Adampur and five have targeted the Indian Punjab general area of Amritsar,' mischievously implying that the strikes were part of a deliberate plan to hit the Golden Temple—the holiest of shrines for Sikhs worldwide. He further claimed that Pakistan had inflicted significant damage on defence installations and the air defence system at the Adampur Indian Air Force base near Jalandhar. Having failed not only on the military front but also in the diplomatic arena, Pakistan's establishment appears to be falling back on its decades-old playbook—attempting to instigate Sikhs, both within India and abroad, against their own homeland. This renewed propaganda campaign, launched in the wake of a humiliating military setback, reveals more about Pakistan's desperation than any semblance of coherent strategy. However, Pakistan perhaps fails to realise that Punjab and India are no longer in the state they were during the 1980s or early 1990s—and therefore, its abhorrent attempts have proved utterly abortive. Also read: You're wrong to think Khalistani movement over for India. See Pakistan-backed groups in US Pannun's propaganda and Pakistan's false narratives Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a designated terrorist under Indian law and the self-proclaimed legal counsel of the banned organisation Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), has long functioned as a vocal agent of Khalistani extremism. Now a naturalised US citizen operating from New York, Pannun continues to issue venomous statements against India, despite facing multiple terrorism and sedition charges and being wanted in nearly two dozen cases. In his latest outburst, Pannun swiftly echoed Pakistan's fabricated narrative following the ISPR's outrageous 9 May claim that Indian missiles from Adampur had struck Amritsar. Within hours, using affiliated social media accounts such as @SFJGenCounsel, he parroted the line that Sikhs were being targeted by the Indian State. His provocative question—'Why are Sikhs target?'—was immediately followed by the inflammatory slogan, 'Modi's missiles kill Sikhs – Khalistan is the answer!' The speed and substance of Pannun's reaction leave little to the imagination. That his messaging emerged within hours of the DG ISPR's wild and disproven assertions clearly demonstrates that he is either a willing proxy or an unabashed mouthpiece of Pakistan's pernicious propaganda machinery. Far from championing any genuine Sikh cause, Pannun's statements serve as an echo chamber for the very forces that have historically suppressed minority rights within Pakistan, including those of its own beleaguered Sikh population. What makes Pannun's radicalism all the more disingenuous is his personal origin—he hails from Khankot village, just outside the municipal limits of Amritsar on the Grand Trunk Road to Jalandhar. This locality is hardly a site of grievance or alienation, yet he has repackaged himself as the global face of separatism. In January 2025, his quest for attention saw him reportedly 'gatecrash' an event linked to US President Donald Trump—another publicity stunt designed to mask the hollowness of his cause with spectacle and provocation. Also read: Kartarpur and Khalistan: Why Pakistan Army has been so eager to open corridor with India Ground reality in Gurdaspur: Pakistan's fireworks fail to spark fear Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Congress Lok Sabha MP from Gurdaspur, conducted a tour earlier this week of border villages in the Bamial sector (Pathankot) along the Ravi River, as well as settlements in the Dera Baba Nanak, Dhariwal, and Kalanaur sectors. In a personal conversation with this writer, Randhawa shared, 'Even in villages like Naushehra Dhalla and Dhangeran—situated beyond the Ravi's banks—farmers reported not a single bullet, let alone missiles or drones, penetrated Indian airspace.' He added that the administration had ordered limited evacuations, but life remained peaceful. People felt secure because India's air defence systems had neutralised every threat. While criticising the poor condition of roads, education, and healthcare in these frontier regions, Randhawa unequivocally demanded the resurrection of the Border Area Development Project with 100 per cent central funding. He noted that his constituency had borne the brunt of not only the India-Pakistan wars of 1965 and 1971 but also the Pakistan-abetted proxy war of terrorism through the 1980s until 1994. Yet, he observed, 'Operation Sindoor's aftermath saw normalcy, not panic. Pakistan's fireworks [atish-baazi] failed miserably.' Analysing Pakistan's failed strategy Pakistan's coordinated disinformation campaign betrays three fundamental miscalculations: Desperation after defeat: The wild allegations demonstrate that Pakistan's military and political establishment is discouraged, defeated, and running short of ideas after the successful Indian strikes. When satellite imagery and on-ground reality so easily disprove your claims, it indicates poor strategic thinking born of desperation. Underestimating native intelligence and commonsense: The crude attempt to drive a wedge between Sikhs and India assumes that Punjabis in general, and Sikhs in particular, are naïve enough to believe such transparent propaganda. In an age where private satellite imagery is readily available and even civilian aircraft flight paths are trackable online, such easily debunked claims insult the intelligence of the target audience. Living in the past: Pakistan seems to believe that scripts which found limited traction among a microscopic minority of misguided youth in the 1980s and early 1990s will work in today's interconnected world. They fail to recognise that today's Sikh community is globally integrated, technologically savvy, and far more aware of Pakistan's own poor treatment of minorities. Also read: Pakistan ISI is killing Hindus for 45 years. To turn India into a nation at war with itself The global context: A changed world order Pakistan's propaganda efforts occur against the backdrop of significant changes in global geopolitics. The United States now views India as a crucial partner in the QUAD—a strategic grouping that, while not a formal military alliance, forms a linchpin of America's strategy to contain China's expanding influence in the Indo-Pacific region. Even China's supposed support for Pakistan was nothing more than diplomatic boilerplate. When Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke with Pakistan's Ishaq Dar, he merely reiterated that China would 'continue to stand firmly by Pakistan in upholding its sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national independence'—standard diplomatic language that stops well short of endorsing Pakistan's specific actions or claims. Pakistan's economic vulnerability Pakistan's economic fragility further undermines its position. The country recently received a $1 billion tranche from the International Monetary Fund as part of its $7 billion Extended Fund Facility lending programme. India abstained from voting on this bailout, citing concerns over Pakistan's poor track record with IMF programmes and the possibility of 'misuse of debt financing funds for state-sponsored cross-border terrorism.' This financial support resembles an extra oxygen cylinder for a patient on a ventilator—a temporary fix for a systemic problem. Meanwhile, Pakistan faces serious internal challenges, including an intensifying insurgency in Balochistan, where separatist groups like the Balochistan Liberation Army continue to challenge the Pakistani state's authority. The ceasefire and American involvement While President Trump claimed some role in facilitating the ceasefire between India and Pakistan on 10 May 2025, no statements indicate any active or formal US mediation that would breach the Simla Agreement. Rather, they reflect America's natural concern—as a global power—that a flashpoint between two nuclear-armed neighbours in South Asia be defused quickly. Conclusion: A strategy in shambles, a narrative in ruins Pakistan's political establishment and military high command should now realise that their synchronised propaganda offensive—carried out in concert with fringe figures like Gurpatwant Singh Pannun—has not only failed to achieve its objectives but has collapsed under the weight of its own falsehoods. Instead of inciting unrest or fear, it has exposed a desperate attempt to revive outdated narratives in a geopolitical and domestic landscape that has moved far beyond the vulnerabilities of the 1980s. The near-instant alignment between the DG ISPR's ludicrous missile claims and Pannun's incendiary statements reveals more than coordination—it reveals orchestration. But neither misinformation nor mischief found traction. On the contrary, first-hand accounts from none other than a sitting opposition party MP—Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa—who toured the very villages supposedly under threat, paint a picture of calm, resilience, and public trust in India's air defence and security apparatus. Just as Pakistan's Chinese-supplied missiles and drones were intercepted with near-total precision, its information warfare too was neutralised—not by counter-propaganda, but by hard evidence, satellite imagery, and local testimony. In an age of real-time verification, global transparency, and hardened Indian resolve, Pakistan's disinformation playbook is no longer just obsolete—it is dangerously self-defeating. What remains is not a blow to India, but a mirror held up to Pakistan's own strategic bankruptcy and narrative decay. KBS Sidhu is a former IAS officer who retired as Special Chief Secretary, Punjab. He tweets @kbssidhu1961. Views are personal. (Edited by Prashant)
Express Tribune
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Khalistan leader declares support for Pakistan Army if war breaks out with India
Listen to article Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a prominent leader of the Khalistan movement, has issued a stark warning to India, saying that any military action against Pakistan would mark the 'last war of India and Modi.' In a video statement, Pannun said, 'If India attacks Pakistan, it will be the final war for India and Modi. Punjab will be free from Indian occupation.' Pannun, who is associated with Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), claimed that Indian Punjab would stand with Pakistan 'like a backbone' in the event of war. He urged Pakistan to raise the Khalistan referendum issue at the United Nations. 'Indian Punjab will set up community kitchens (langars) for the Pakistan Army. We will resist the Indian military,' he declared. Pannun further stated that wall chalking had begun in military cantonment areas of Indian Punjab, carrying messages urging Sikh soldiers not to fight against Pakistan. His remarks come amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan following the April 22 attack in Kashmir, which has triggered a diplomatic and military standoff. Earlier, the pro-Khalistan group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) had released raw footage showing 'Pakistan-Khalistan Zindabad' slogans and Khalistan flags near the Army Cantonment in Patiala city of India's Punjab state. The group's General Counsel, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, issued a controversial message warning Sikh youths against enlisting in the Indian military, claiming that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's politics could leave them 'orphaned'
