Gurpatwant Singh Pannun (left) and PM Narendra Modi. (PTI File)
PM Modi in US from September 21-23: Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, Khalistani terrorist and chief of the banned Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), has planned a large number of protests during Modi’s visit. He has filed a civil lawsuit in a US court, alleging Indian officials orchestrated a conspiracy to assassinate him
After the civil lawsuit in a US court, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, Khalistani terrorist and chief of the banned Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), has planned a large number of protests as Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits the United States (US), according to top intelligence sources.
Pannun, a US citizen who is misusing his access in the UK and Canada, is responsible for acts of terrorism in multiple countries and is booked in multiple cases by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and state police departments in India.
Pannun has filed a civil lawsuit in a US court, alleging Indian officials orchestrated a conspiracy to assassinate him, which was foiled as the hitmen turned out to be undercover US agents. The lawsuit seeks damages, alleging that he was targeted for speaking in favour of an independent Sikh state. The US court has summoned Centre’s officials, evoking a sharp response from New Delhi. Intel sources have termed the allegations “baseless”.
PM Modi will visit the United States from September 21 to 23. This is the first visit of PM Modi in his third term and is also significant as this time, along with bilateral issues, QUAD, concerns of Global South, the focus is also on the war in Europe as he recently visited both Russia and Ukraine.
PANNUN’s PLANS
According to intelligence sources, Pannun is seeking support citing his alleged attempted assassination and killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Nijjar was killed by unidentified gunmen outside a Gurdwara in Surrey, Canada, on June 18, 2023. He was the chief of banned Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF), and was designated a terrorist by the Indian government under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) in 2020.
“He has got huge fundings from various agencies, including American and Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). By doing all this, he is serving multiple countries of the world — USA, UK, Canada and Pakistan. These countries are looking to push India back as they are upset about India’s proximity to Russia at the time of war. They are doing this with the help of these fringe groups who will try to embarrass the Indian PM in front of the world,” said sources.
“But these people forget that the PM is going to be welcomed by huge diaspora and various Hindu organisations. Even Sikhs are coming to welcome PM Modi. We are going to present the best case, especially at a time when Jammu and Kashmir is going for elections after the abrogation of Article 370,” they said.
MODI’S VISIT
This time, the Prime Minister’s visit would be short but loaded with engagements, roundtables, bilateral meets and he would also not be going to Washington DC. PM Modi will also not be addressing the high-level UNGA Session. Modi will first visit Wilmington in Delaware as US President Joe Biden will host him and other Quad Leaders at his home for QUAD Leaders’ meet. PM Modi and President Biden have had nine engagements since 2022 at multilateral events and during visits, which also include one telephonic conversation and one virtual summit.
#WATCH | On PM Modi’s upcoming visit to US, Madhulika, a member of Indian diaspora in US says, “I am very excited. A very warm welcome to you (PM Modi) in the USA, New York City. Very thankful for all the important work that you have done for all the people of India. We are… pic.twitter.com/X9W0c2g53z— ANI (@ANI) September 20, 2024
PM Modi will also hold bilateral meeting with all three leaders – President Biden, Prime Minister Kishida of Japan and PM Antony Albanese of Australia – on Sunday after concluding QUAD Summit. On the sidelines of the QUAD Summit, a special event has been planned – the Cancer moonshot event.
PM Modi will attend a community event ‘Modi & US’ in Long Island at the Nassau Veterans Memorial in Coliseum. The preparation for the event has been going on for about a month and the event is already overbooked as the capacity is 15,000, but more than 24,000 Indians have registered for it. Indian Americans from 42 states are expected to attend the event and the response has been particularly strong from the tri-state area.
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PM Modi will also be chairing a Roundtable with CEOs of American companies working in AI, Quantum Computing, Biotechnology, Cutting Edge Technology.
On the third day, which is September 23, Prime Minister Modi will address a gathering of world leaders at the Summit of the Future (SOTF) at United Nations and on the sidelines, he is expected to hold bilateral meetings with other Heads of states visiting New York for UNGA.