Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a terrorist designated by India and a Khalistan separatist, has stated that Hindus in Canada should return to India, accusing them of undermining Canadian values and asserting that only Khalistan Sikhs are loyal to Canada.

In a video, the US-based Pannun criticised Hindu Canadian Member of Parliament from the Liberal Party, Chandra Arya, following the politician’s comments on the vandalism of another temple in the country.

Pannun said in a video shared by Arya on X (formerly Twitter) Wednesday, “The likes of Arya and his supporters have no place in Canada. Because you are working against our Canadian values. You are working against the Charter of Rights and you are promoting the interests of India.”

Pannun added: “You all must abandon your citizenship and move back to your motherland – India. While you and your supporters Chandra Arya are promoting violence against pro-Khalistan Sikhs, we, the Khalistan Sikhs, have proved over the decades that we are loyal to Canada and its values.”

Pannun is the founder of Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), which India has classified as a terrorist organisation, and has a history of releasing videos that threaten the Hindu community in Canada, urging them to return to India.

In response, Arya described Khalistani extremists as “polluting” Canada and “abusing” its guaranteed freedoms.

Arya said on X, “In response to my condemnation of the vandalism of the Hindu temple BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir in Edmonton and other acts of hate and violence by Khalistan supporters in Canada, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun of Sikhs For Justice has released a video demanding me and my Hindu-Canadian friends to go back to India.”

The MP added: “With our long history of Hindu culture and heritage, we have enriched the multicultural fabric of Canada. Our land is being polluted by Khalistani extremists abusing our freedoms guaranteed by our Canadian Charter of Rights.”

On Tuesday, a BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir was defaced in Edmonton, Canada. Offensive graffiti on its wall labelled Narendra Modi and Arya as “Hindu terrorists” and “anti-Canada.”

Arya addressed this issue on social media, stating that “Hindu-Canadians are legitimately concerned” about how Khalistani extremists are able to “get away with ease with their public rhetoric of hate and violence.”

Pro-Khalistan rallies in Canada have often featured chants glorifying the assassination of Indira Gandhi, and Canadian political leaders, including Justin Trudeau and Leader of the Opposition Pierre Poilievre, have attended rallies with chants of ‘Khalistan zindabad.’

Arya is a member of Prime Minister Trudeau’s Liberal Party.

In recent years, Hindu temples in the Greater Toronto Area, British Columbia, and other regions have been increasingly targeted with hateful graffiti, according to Arya.

Pannun invokes Parmar

With his face to the camera, Pannun was backed by a screen displaying photos and names of “martyrs” of the Khalistani cause, including Talwinder Singh Parmar – the alleged mastermind behind the bombing of Air India Flight 182.

Parmar, the founder of the terrorist group Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), and his associates are considered to be key figures behind the killing of 329 passengers and crew aboard the Air India flight on 23 June 1985, the deadliest act of aviation terrorism until the 11 September 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York.

The attack killed mostly Canadian citizens. Another bomb placed by Khalistani extremists exploded in Narita airport, Japan, killing two baggage handlers.

Khalistani impresses US, Canada

Another “martyr,” according to Pannun, is Hardeep Singh Nijjar, also an India-designated terrorist, who was killed on 18 June 2023 outside a gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia. Ottawa has alleged that Indian government agents had a link to this assassination.

New Delhi dismissed the allegations as “absurd and motivated.” Relations between the two countries remain strained months later, with the Canadian government yet to provide evidence linking Indian agents to the killers. Earlier this year, Ottawa arrested and charged four Indians with Nijjar’s murder.

Meanwhile, the US is investigating a foiled plot to allegedly murder Pannun on American soil and has discussed the issue with the Indian government. New Delhi has established a high-level committee to investigate the allegations regarding the involvement of Indian officials.

In November last year, US federal prosecutors charged Indian national Nikhil Gupta with collaborating with an Indian government employee in the foiled murder-for-hire plot to kill Pannun in New York. Gupta, who was arrested in the Czech Republic last year, was extradited to the US on 14 June.