Pannun used Sikhs for Justice role as cover to inflict war on India: Tribunal

NEW DELHI: Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), banned as an “unlawful association” under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, is a frontal organisation of Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who as the outfit’s legal adviser is using his “juristic identity” as a cover to perpetrate war upon India in league with other agencies and state-and non-state actors of foreign countries, a tribunal led by Justice Anoop Kumar Mendiratta ruled while upholding the ban on the pro-Khalistani outfit earlier this month.
The background note submitted by the government to the tribunal, detailing the activities of SFJ, states that the all activities of the outfit are usually carried out from offices of Pannun, an attempt on whose life in the US, allegedly involving a former Indian government officer, had become an irritant in Indo-US tied until they agreed to cooperate on the case, with a panel set up by India recently recommending “legal action” against the “individual”.
The government of India’s background note on SFJ and Pannun, submitted before the tribunal, records that the outfit has repeatedly threatened India’s political leaders, government officers including the police, diplomats, judiciary and even their family members and families abroad. These include Prime Minister Narendra Modi, home minister Amit Shah, external affairs minister S Jaishankar, chief minister and minister of Punjab, national security adviser, and RAW chief. The note reveals that SFJ organises protests and filing of baseless cases against visiting Indian dignitaries abroad, particularly in Europe, Canada and US, to defame them and to fan anti-India sentiments among the Sikh diaspora.
Stating that SFJ has been organising anti-India protests outside Indian embassies or consulates, where its activists have raised Khalistan flags and even dishonoured the Indian flag and indulged in violence and vandalisation of the premises, the documents filed with the tribunal reveal that many of the protests had the active support of Pakistani missions and were in tandem with multiple ISI-backed Pakistani diaspora outfits and Kashmiri diaspora. They also said Hindu temples in Canada and Australia were defaced with Khalistani graffiti and ISIS exhorted by SFJ after the deadly ISIS attack on Gurdwara Kart-e-Parwan in Kabul, Afghanistan, to target the Indian embassies rather than gurdwaras.
The note directly names Pannun for having instigated the Indian farmers protesting against the three farm bills to arm themselves and fight against the Indian forces with weapons that would reach them from across the border (Pakistan). It said he has conspired with other Khalistani leaders like UK-based Babbar Khalsa International leader Paramjit Singh Pamma as well as Canada based terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was shot dead in 2023, to revive terrorism in Punjab.
SFJ, according to the government’s submission, has been inciting Sikh personnel to desert the Army and police forces. He had urged Sikh Soldiers to join the SFJ movement and offered them Rs 5000 more than the salary given by the Indian government. He also tried to provoke the Sikh soldiers posted in Ladakh to not to fight for India against Chinese aggression.
SFJ has also been colluding with the gangsters, terrorists and other radical elements including Kashmir separatists. Not only this, it has been inciting non-Sikh communities including Muslims and Tamils, as also Christians in Manipur to secede from India.
As many as 104 cases have been registered against SFJ elements, including 96 by various state police and 8 by NIA.
“Vitriolic speeches made by Gurpatwant Singh Pannun glorifying militants such as Bhinderwalan & Nijjar, making calls to assassinate Constitutional functionaries of the country, calling for a referendum which is nothing but a plebiscite, taken jointly or individually... constitute “sufficient cause” for confirming the decision of the Union of India to extend the declaration of SFJ as unlawful association for a further period of five years,” the tribunal stated while upholding the ban on January 3 this year.