Khalistani Extremist Pannun Warns Passengers From Flying Via Air India from November 1-19

Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on Monday warned passengers of not using Air India flights between November 1 to 19. This development comes after Pannun asserted that a possible attack could be carried out on an Air India flight during the specified dates. The threat coincides with ‘40th anniversary of the Sikh genocide’.

The wave of fresh threats comes at a time when several airlines operating in India are receiving threat calls about potential bombings, which in turn turned out to be hoaxes. This also comes when India and Canada are going through a diplomatic standoff. The murky relationship entails Canada accusing India of targeting Khalistani elements in the country. It also accused India of murdering another separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

During November last year, Pannun released a video affirming that Indira Gandhi International Airport would be renamed and would remain closed on November 19, 2024. He warned people against flying on Air India that day. Under various offences of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), the National Investigation Agency (NIA) charged him with criminal conspiracy, promoting enmity between different groups on the grounds of religion, and various offences.

Pannun also threatened to attack the Parliament on December 13 last year. December 13 marks the anniversary of the terrorist attack on the Parliament in 2001.

Earlier, he threatened to kill Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Director General of State Police Gaurav Yadav on Republic Day this year.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) since July 2020 has designated Pannun as a terrorist on charges of sedition and secessionism. He acts as a frontman of Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), which has been advocating for creating a separate sovereign Sikh state. In 2021, India banned SFJ as an ‘unlawful association’ for engaging in ‘anti-national and subversive’ activities.

Notably, a former officer of India's spy agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) was charged by the United States for plotting a plan to murder Pannun. However, New Delhi has rejected these charges as baseless.