On April 27, the Pakistani propaganda YouTube channel Azaad Siasat posted an interview with Khalistani extremist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. The interview was conducted against the backdrop of the recent Pahalgam terrorist attack, which led to the loss of lives of 27 innocent Hindus who were in Kashmir as tourists.
During the interview, Pannun made several baseless and provocative claims, including that two crore Sikhs living in Punjab would not allow the Indian Government to attack Pakistan.
Notably, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun is a US-based Khalistani extremist who has citizenship in both the US and Canada. He consistently propagates the Khalistani sentiments and often issues threats against India and Hindus. He has been actively promoting violence against Indian diplomats in Canada, the US, and other western countries. He is a designated terrorist by the Government of India under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for his anti-India activities. His organisation, Sikhs For Justice is also listed as a terrorist outfit by the Government of India.
Pannun made a shocking claim that not only the people of Punjab but also Sikh soldiers and officers of the Indian Armed Forces are with Pakistan at his call. He also claimed that it was Indian agencies who carried out the Pahalgam terrorist attack so that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) could gain political mileage for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections.
Citing India’s decision that the Indus Waters Treaty would no longer be followed, he claimed that India wants to block Pakistan’s water supply. He also referred to the statements made by the Army Chief and Prime Minister of Pakistan warning India that any action to stop water would be treated as an act of war.
Pannun claimed that Sikhs would support Pakistan and asserted that the current situation is different from that of 1965 and 1971. He said, This is 2025, and Sikhs would stand with Pakistan like a brick wall. He emphasised that Sikhs would not allow Indian forces to attack Pakistan through Punjab. However, this would be possible, according to him, only if Pakistan openly supported the cause of Khalistan.
He argued that open support for Khalistan is Pakistan’s “trump card.” He claimed that Pakistan’s official endorsement of the Khalistan movement would ensure that millions of Sikhs in India’s Punjab would stand with Pakistan. He alleged that many Sikhs are already ideologically aligned with this cause and are merely awaiting formal support.
He also demanded that the Pakistani Government should actively raise the Khalistan issue at the United Nations Security Council and internationally legitimise the ongoing Khalistan Referendum as a peaceful and democratic process.
The entire Sikh diaspora would unite with Pakistan if it stood firmly behind the Khalistan movement. India has demonstrated aggression against Pakistan repeatedly and gave examples of the 1971 war that led to the formation of Bangladesh, he further said. He asserted that now India wants to break Balochistan from Pakistan.
Further making more baseless statements, he claimed to have been working on outreach programmes to convince Sikh soldiers in the Indian Armed Forces to abandon loyalty to India. He claimed that his efforts have led to sedition charges against him by the Indian authorities.
He further insisted that Pakistan must take active, decisive steps, including openly supporting Khalistan at the United Nations Security Council.
He also challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to an open fight between khalistanis and Indian army, including RSS and BJP.
Pannun claimed that India has escalated its crackdown on Khalistani sympathisers, citing the killing of Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. He further claimed that Indian agencies carried out an attack on UK-based Khalistani extremist and SFJ associate Paramjit Singh Pamma, highlighting the growing risk to his life.
Pannun claimed that he and pro-Khalistani Sikhs have supported the so-called Kashmir freedom movement and expressed disappointment over the inaction of Kashmiris living abroad, stating that they do not even defend themselves or protest outside the Indian embassy in the UK, the USA, etc.
It is be noted that on April 22, Islamic terrorists affiliated with The Resistance Force (TRF)—an offshoot of the Pakistan-based terrorist outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba—orchestrated the deadly Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed the lives of 27 Hindus. The terrorists asked the tourists their religion, whether they were Hindus or not, and ordered them to recite the Kalma; those who failed to do so were shot dead for being non-Muslims.
