A pro-Khalistani organization threatened Indian-origin Hindus to leave Canada for supporting India in the Nijjar killing row. The Sikhs for Justice has been banned in India since 2019. The video of SFJ’s legal counsel Gurpatwant Pannun asking Indians to leave Canada went viral on the internet.
In the video, Pannun who has been designated as a terrorist in India, was heard saying, “Indo-Hindu leave Canada; go to India. You not only support India but you are also supporting the suppression of speech and expression of pro-Khalistan Sikhs”, Hindustan Times reported.
The Khalistan Tiger Force chief – wanted in India for several terror attacks – had been gunned down by two unidentified assailants outside a gurdwara in Surrey on June 18.
This came after Canadian PM Justin Trudeau’s bombshell statement on Tuesday accusing the Indian government agency of killing Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June this year.
However, India dismissed the Canadian government’s accusations as ‘absurd’ and later asked a Canadian diplomat to exit the country within the next five days.
Following Pannun’s threat video, the Canadian Hindus for Harmony expressed concern over “full-scale Hinduphobia” across the board, HT reported.
“We are worried that this may translate into the loss of Canadian Hindu lives as in 1985,” said Vijay Jain, a spokesperson of Canadian Hindus for Harmony as quoted by HT.
Jain referred to June 1985 Khalistani bombing of an Air India flight traveling from Montreal to London to Delhi to Bombay, which claimed the lives of 307 passengers and 22 crew members. In Canadian history, it was the worst terrorist attack.
Responding to the threat video, Canadian Minister Anita Anand appealed for calm.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the minister wrote, “South Asians and families who come from India, regardless of religion, will share the sentiment that it was difficult to hear the Prime Minister’s statement yesterday. This is a time to let the legal process continue as it must. Let us all remain calm, unified, and empathetic.”
