NIA files FIR against terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun for Pakistan meeting where he incited Sikh soldiers against Indian PM
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Gurpatwant Singh Pannun and his group SFJ are banned by India as terrorist Photograph: (AFP file)
NIA filed an FIR against Gurpatwant Singh Pannun for promoting Khalistan and inciting separatism in a video address to Pakistani journalists. He offered rewards to disrupt India's Independence Day and unveiled a ‘Khalistan map’.
The Indian investigation agency NIA has registered a first information report against banned terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun for trying to garner support in Pakistan against India. Pannun, who heads the banned terror group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), as well as some unidentified persons, have been mentioned in the FIR registered on August 19. Various sections of the Indian criminal code, Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita or BNS, as well as the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) have been invoked in the FIR.
What did Pannun do in Pakistan?
According to NIA, Pannun hosted a "Meet the Press" at Lahore Press Club in Pakistan on August 10, just ahead of India's Independence Day of August 15, and months after India's Operation Sindoor against Pakistan terror bases after the Pehalgam terror attack. Pannun addressed the journalists through a video link from Washington, US, where he lives.
Pannun's address to the Pakistani press club was primarily focused on the rejection of India's sovereignty over Punjab and the promotion of Khalistan, the imagined homeland of Punjab's Sikhs, being promoted by separatist groups like SFJ.
Pannun offered 110 million rupees to the Sikh soldiers who would stop Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi from hoisting the Indian flag at Red Fort on Indian Independence Day.
He also unveiled SFJ's new "Delhi Banayga Khalistan" Referendum Map.
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The map erroneously incorporated India's Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Delhi into an envisioned Khalistan.
SFJ later posted a video on its official X account where Pannun could be seen rejecting India's sovereignty over Punjab and promoting separatist sentiments.
Also read: VIRAL VIDEO: Gurpatwant Pannun attends Donald Trump's inauguration, chants pro-Khalistan slogans
What the NIA said about Pannun
The NIA, India's premier terror probe agency, described Pannun's tirade against India as part of a broader conspiracy involving terror financing and links to pro-Khalistan elements.
The FIR invokes Section 61(2) of BNS for criminal conspiracy, and Sections 10 and 13 of the UAPA, which deal with membership in unlawful associations and unlawful activities.
India's home ministry had directed the NIA to investigate the wider conspiracy.
Not the first case with NIA for Pannun
Multiple FIRs have been filed against Pannun for similar threats and separatist activities.
The SFJ has been banned in India as a terror organisation since 2019. The ban was extended for five more years in 2024.
Earlier this week, an aide to Pannun was arrested in Canada on weapons charges.
Who is Gurpatwant Singh Pannun?
Pannun is a 58-year-old US-based Sikh lawyer and political activist.
Born near Amritsar in India's Punjab, he is an immigration attorney in New York and holds dual US-Canadian citizenship.
Pannun founded SFJ in 2007, and serves as the general counsel and spokesperson. His main mission is advocating for a separate Sikh state of Khalistan through referendums and campaigns.
