New Delhi: Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun Thursday raised a flag bearing the Khalistan symbol at the Indian embassy in Croatia, vandalised the premises there, and threatened an attack on India on Republic Day.
The turn of events drew condemnation from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) against the “trespassing and vandalism” by “anti-India elements.”
In his video statement released after the incident, Pannun said: “Once Punjab is liberated from Indian occupation, the Tiranga will be replaced with the Khalistan flag, and Indian embassies will be taken over as embassies of the Democratic Republic of Khalistan.”
The video shows the front wall vandalised with the words ‘26/01’ and ‘Khalistan Zindabad, Hindustan Murdabad’ painted on it.
The Sikh separatist reportedly said that Delhi is his target on 26 January. He then showed a picture with a sniper sign above the India Gate.
A dual citizen of the US and Canada, Pannun was declared an individual terrorist by the Indian government under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in 2020.
In his latest video, he accused the Indian government of “ethnic cleansing in Punjab” where Sikhs are facing “existential crises”.
Responding to the incident, the MEA asserted that diplomatic premises were inviolable under the Vienna Convention and must be protected.
It added that the matter was taken up strongly with Croatian authorities, both in New Delhi and in Zagreb, and that authorities were asked to hold the perpetrators accountable for their reprehensible and illegal actions.
“Such actions also speak of the character and motives of those behind them, and law enforcement authorities everywhere would do well to take note of them,” the statement said.
Last year in September, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) lodged a case against Pannun on charges of declaring an Rs 11 crore reward for stopping Prime Minister Narendra Modi from hoisting the tricolour on Independence Day. He also “unveiled a map of new Khalistan which includes Punjab, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh”, according to the NIA.
Pannun, the founder of the US-based banned outfit Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), has been booked on charges of promoting secessionism of Punjab from India and establishing Khalistan—a separate state for Sikhs.
The FIR was lodged after the Ministry of Home Affairs alerted the NIA about credible information regarding Pannun virtually addressing a press conference held at the Lahore Press Club.
Pannun made headlines last year after the US alleged the involvement of a former Indian official in a plot to kill him on American soil. Indian national Nikhil Gupta is currently lodged in a US prison on charges of murder-for-hire in the alleged assassination plot. Former R&AW officer Vikas Yadav is a co-accused.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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