Sikhs for Justice urge US action against Indian assassinations

WASHINGTON: The head of Sikhs for Justice, Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, addressed a letter to the United States (US) Secretary of State Antony Blinken, calling for action against violence by the Indian govemrent against the Sikh community.

In the letter, Pannu asked the US State Secretary to act against Indian government’s involvement in extra judicial killing of Khalistan supporters.

Read more: Modi faces severe backlash from Sikh community during US visit

The appeal comes as Blinken is set to meet with the Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.

Khalistan movement is a movement to create a spate state for Indian Sikhs. New Delhi has over the decades responded in increasingly violent ways against the Sikhs’ struggle for independence, including attacking their holiest sites, the Golden Temple in 1984 in a military offensive called the Operation Blue Star.

In his letter, Pannu criticised the United States’ “quiet diplomacy” with India. He argued that it encouraged the hardliner Modi’s administration to continue with its human rights abuses.

He pointed to a recent indictment from the US Department of Justice (DOJ) against an Indian national involved in a plot to assassinate him.

Several Khalistan activists face imminent danger by the vicious Indian govemrent.

Pannu stated that the Sikhs for Justice was committed to promoting the self-determination fo the Indian Sikhs. He urged Blinken to address the Modi government’s violent actions against Khalistan activists and supporters within the United States.

The Sikh asserted that the international violations were not confined to just US territory.

The letter also called attention to the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nagar in Canada, noting that the pro-Khalistan activitists have faced threats in the United Kingdom, Australia and Pakistan.

Pannu called for a thorough investigation into the conspiracy against him and demanded accountability for those involved.

He highlighted that the Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval have consistently and outright made thier intentions clear to suppress pro-Khalistan movement anywhere in the world.

The Sikh activist characterised Jaishankar as the global face of the Modi administration and urged the United States to insist that India cease its intimidation tactics against US citizens.

Read more: Some Sikhs fear Modi government is threatening them in the US, Canada

The letter ended with Pannu stating that any attempts on his life would not hinder the Khalistan movement. He declared that if he were to be harmed, he would hold Indian Prime Minster Modi, the Indian ambassador and the head of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) accountable.