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Swarajya News Staff
Nov 05, 2023, 11:01 AM | Updated 11:00 AM IST
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Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the founder of the banned Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) and a designated terrorist, recently released a video urging Sikhs to avoid flying on Air India aircraft after 19 November, as he believes their lives may be at risk.
Pannun claims that Air India will not be allowed to operate on 19 November.
"We are asking the Sikh people not to fly via Air India. From November 19, there will be a global blockade. Air India won't be allowed to operate. Sikh people, don't travel by Air India after November 19. Your life can be in danger," Pannun said in the video that is circulating on social media.
According to Pannun, the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in Delhi will be closed on 19 November and will undergo a name change. He pointed out that this coincides with the final match of the ongoing Cricket World Cup.
"It is the same day in November on which the final match of the World Terror Cup will be played," he said. "The name of this airport will be Shahid Beant Singh, Shahid Satwant Singh Khalistan airport, when Punjab will be liberated," he added.
SFJ chief Pannun has a history of issuing threats. In September, during a diplomatic dispute between India and Canada over the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Pannun released a video on social media in which he praised the loyalty of pro-Khalistan Sikhs to Canada and then proceeded to threaten Hindu-Canadians, urging them to leave the country.
In September, there was a 'referendum' organised by Khalistani secessionists in Surrey, British Columbia.
Pannun attended the gathering of Khalistani separatists at the Guru Nanak Singh Gurudwara in Surrey, Vancouver. In his speech, he used intimidating language against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, and other leaders, claiming that the separatists were posing a challenge to India's territorial integrity.
The relationship between India and Canada has turned tense following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's claim that "agents of the Indian government" were involved in the killing of Nijjar in June.
India dismissed these allegations as "absurd and motivated" and expelled a Canadian diplomat in response to Canada's actions.
Canada has not presented any public evidence to substantiate the assertion regarding the death of Nijjar.