Khalistani Terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun has threatened to blow up the Indian parliament on or before December 13, 2023, the anniversary of the parliament attacks in 2001, in response to the foiled assassination plot.
Details of the Video
In a video featuring a poster of the 2001 Parliament Attacks convict Afzal Guru with the caption of Delhi Banega Khalistan (Delhi will turn into Khalistan), Pannun, who has dual citizenship of the USA and Canada, said that its attack will shake off the very foundations of Parliament.
“My response on December 13, 2023will be in contrast to the 2001 resistance of Afzal Guru against the extrajudicial killings of Kashmiris. But it shall still shake the very foundations of the Indian Parliament. Delhi BanayGa Khalistan,” Pannun said in the video shared on social media platforms on December 5, 2023.
Ongoing Parliament Session
The threat comes amidst the ongoing winter session of the Indian Parliament, which is scheduled to end on December 22, 2023. Meanwhile, Indian security agencies have beefed up security in and around the national capital, Delhi, to thwart such activities of the US-based Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) founded by Pannun. The development comes after the US had charged an Indian man with attempting to carry out assassinations of the Khalistani leader on American soil.
A press release by the US Justice Department quoting court documents said that earlier this year, an Indian government employee working together with others, including Gupta in India and elsewhere, directed a plot to assassinate on American soil an attorney and political activist who is a citizen of Indian origin residing in New York City.
Reaction by Delhi Police
Following the release of the threat video, security agencies are on high alert. The Delhi Police has raised special vigilance. A senior police officer confirmed the increase in the security measures in and around Parliament premises and said, “No one would be allowed to disturb law and order.”
Assassination Plot Foiled
The state was released after an Indian-origin drug trafficker named Nikhil Gupta was detained by Czech authorities at Prague airport on June 30 as per the request of US authorities. He was accused of working with an undercover cop and hiring an informant from the Drug Enforcement Agency to kill Pannun.
He was successfully captured and later handed over to US authorities around the first week of November 2023, shortly before an indictment was filed in New York Court. In response, India dissociated the incident and expressed concerns over being associated with the killing bid.
Pannun has spearheaded a global campaign targeting India and its establishment in the last two years. There have been several aggressive incidents over the last year instigated by the Khalistani supporters against Indian missions and officials in Canada and the UK. Pannun notably circulated kill posters naming high-ranking diplomats stationed at missions in Ottawa and other locations.
India’s anti-terror agency lodged a complaint against Pannun, alleging that he had used video messages on social media earlier this month to caution Air India passengers that their lives were at risk.
