Who is Pannun? And why Western countries don't see his criminal activities to prosecute Khalistani activist and other hardliners

Tribune Web Desk

Chandigarh, September 20

The police in Punjab and Himachal Pradesh have registered separate FIRs against chief of the banned Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) Gurpatwant Singh Pannun over threats and attempting to disturb peace, stability and communal harmony.

Despite SFJ being a banned organisation in India since 2019 on grounds of secessionism and Pannun being declared a terrorist, countries like Canada, the UK and the US, with a sizable Sikh diaspora, have allowed the organisation to conduct anti-India activities, including holding illegal referendums to build a campaign for secession of Punjab.

Member of Indian diaspora admit that people like Pannun are raising charity in the name of referendums by abusing and accusing Indian authorities of atrocities against minorities, particularly the Sikhs.

“In fact, most of the second or third generation of a particular community born and brought up in foreign shores, who have never witnessed the true face of militancy in Punjab (from 1981-1992), have been raising a bogey against India just at the instance of freedom,” remarked a Sikh scholar.

He told IANS that they are the ones who have never witnessed the dark days of militancy.

“In the name of referendums, a handful of separatists like Pannun get the opportunity to establish their base overseas by raising funds from Pakistan's ISI and similar agencies in China,” said a police official.

The Western countries don't see crime to prosecute Pannun and other hardliners as they think it will be a violation of freedom of expression, he added.

Reacting to Trudeau's allegations of “potential link between Indian government agents and murder of Nijjar”, senior BJP leader and former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh said Trudeau had unfortunately walked into a trap owing to vote-bank politics and put at stake the diplomatic relationship between India and Canada.

In Punjab, 1,792 police personnel had sacrificed their lives while fighting terrorism between September 1981 and August 1992.

Back to the separatist activities of Pannun, he has been booked in 22 cases since 2017, including on terrorism and sedition charges. Recently, he was booked by the Punjab Police for sedition after SFJ activists wrote a pro-Khalistan slogan on a glass box covering the statue of slain chief minister Beant Singh in Jalandhar.

Himachal Pradesh Police in May had booked Pannun under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for hoisting of Khalistani flags outside the state Assembly complex in Shimla.

A law graduate from Panjab University, Pannun currently resides in Oakville on the outskirts of Canada's Toronto.

Originally from Khankot village on the outskirts of Amritsar, Pannun's father, Mahinder Singh, was an employee with the Punjab State Agricultural Marketing Board.

His family had migrated from Pakistan to Khankot during Partition in 1947. Pannun is little known at his village, where he owns property worth crores, including agricultural land. In fact, he rarely visited the village.

Pannun, an attorney at law in the US and Canada, who has been offering employment abroad, besides cash incentives for hoisting the Khalistani flag on public buildings, is one of the founders of SFJ, which claims to be "an international advocacy and human rights group".

Pannun, who asks the youth in Punjab to hoist the Khalistani flag on Independence Day, has been actively propagating and funding the secessionist Khalistan agenda abroad. With IANS inputs

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