Modi govt instructed RAW to orchestrate Nijjar’s assassination: Pannun
Islamabad: Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the head of Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), has claimed that the recent detention of three Indian state operatives by Canadian authorities, in relation to the killing of Canadian Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, supports the assertion that the Narendra Modi administration instructed, Indian secret agency, RAW to orchestrate Nijjar’s assassination.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the pro-Khalistan leader and personal friend and mentor of Nijjar said this after the Canadian police charged three members of a RAW-sponsored hit team for their role in the killing of Nijjar, who was running Khalistan Referendum campaign in Canada on behalf of the SFJ, in the parking lot of the Guru Nanak Sikh gurdwara on the evening of 18 June last year in the city of Surrey, British Columbia.
According to court documents, Karanpreet Singh, 28, Kamalpreet Singh, 22 and Karan Brar, 22, have been charged with first-degree murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder in Nijjar’s death.
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, Attorney at Law (New York) and General Counsel to SFJ, said: “Nijar was my dear, personal friend and a close associate. He was head of the Khalistan Referendum campaign in Canada and President of a Gurdwara in Surrey, BC. He was an upright individual, a peaceful man with a demonstrated commitment to community service.”
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun blamed Prime Minister Modi government for the killing of Nijjar and for ordering a hit on him.
Pannun said: “In the light of Prime Minister Modi’s own statements, he recently proclaimed in a speech that ‘This New India comes into your home to kill you. My India does not send dossiers. We kill terrorists on their home turf’.”
The SFJ founder said: “While today’s action by Canadian authorities, which led to the arrest of those directly involved in the killing, is a step forward, it only scratches the surface. High-ranking Indian diplomats such as Indian High Commissioner to Canada Sanjay Verma and Consul General of India in Vancouver Manish provided logistical support and intelligence for the assassination. They must be charged. Reports, including one from the Washington Post, suggest that the RAW agents who assisted in carrying out the assassination are still actively positioned at the Indian Consulate in Vancouver.”
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun said that simply removing RAW agents from Indian missions does not suffice to counteract the Modi government’s spree of transnational terrorism.
The Sikh leader, who lives under security around the clock, said: “If we are to genuinely combat this wave of transnational violence, those Indian diplomats who oversee RAW’s espionage operations in Canada must be held accountable and face legal proceedings. Only through such decisive actions can we hope to dismantle the networks that enable and perpetuate such crimes against Canadians on Canadian soil.
“Canadian politicians of every stripe must stand with the Canadian Sikhs’ right to peacefully advocate for Khalistan without facing any violent retaliation from the Indian Government. Canada’s political leadership must stand on the right side of history in countering the Modi government’s transnational repression of pro-Khalistan Sikhs on Canadian soil, to ensure this sort of violence never happens again.”
Pannun added: “Nijjar laid his life working for the cause of Khalistan, Phase III of Khalistan Referendum voting on July 28, 2024 in Calgary, AB is dedicated to Hardeep Singh Nijjar and other Canadians who sacrificed their lives for the cause of Khalistan.”
The three India men arrested on Friday were living in the city of Edmonton, Alberta, and will be transported on Monday to British Columbia to face charges.
