NEW YORK – A high-profile Sikh separatist advocate has confirmed that U.S. and Canadian law enforcement agencies have alerted him to a new, verified threat against his life, coming months after an Indian national pleaded guilty to involvement in a 2023 plot to kill him.
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who serves as general counsel for the advocacy group Sikhs For Justice and holds dual U.S.-Canadian citizenship, said FBI agents visited him at his location last Thursday to deliver the warning. Per Pannun, the FBI advised him to avoid unnecessary travel until the threat is fully investigated and neutralized, and require advance notification to the agency if any travel is necessary. A day later on Tuesday, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) also contacted Pannun by phone to reiterate the threat alert. Neither law enforcement body has released any specific details about the origins or scope of the newly uncovered plot, and requests for comment from the FBI and RCMP had not received a response as of Tuesday.
Pannun explained that the warning was issued in compliance with U.S. federal “Duty to Warn” regulations, which legally require American intelligence and law enforcement agencies to alert individuals when they uncover credible, specific threats of murder, severe bodily injury, or kidnapping.
This new alert comes as Nikhil Gupta, an Indian national who pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy charges in a Manhattan court in February of this year, prepares for a scheduled sentencing on November 20. Gupta was charged for his role in a coordinated 2023 plot to assassinate Pannun alongside co-conspirators. FBI investigations have confirmed that Gupta was directed to carry out the killing by a serving employee of the Indian government. When Gupta attempted to hire a contractor to carry out the assassination, he unknowingly negotiated with an undercover law enforcement officer posing as a professional hitman. Federal sentencing guidelines currently recommend a minimum prison term of 20 years for Gupta.
Pannun, who publicly campaigns for the creation of an independent sovereign Sikh state of Khalistan – a position that has led the Indian government to designate him as a terrorist – said in a Tuesday phone interview that he remains undeterred by repeated attempts to silence his work.
“I’m not afraid of their death threats,” Pannun stated. He went on to call on the administrations of U.S. President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to directly address the threats with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, arguing that such plots violate the territorial sovereignty of both the United States and Canada. “The Modi government is proceeding under the Trump administration without fear of any consequences,” he added.
Pannun has long framed his work as that of a Sikh human rights lawyer, arguing his campaign seeks to establish a region in Punjab where all religious communities are guaranteed equal legal and social rights.
He also drew a parallel to the 2023 assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the former leader of the Canadian wing of the Khalistan Referendum movement. Pannun confirmed that Canadian law enforcement had also issued a “Duty to Warn” advisory to Nijjar in the weeks before he was fatally shot outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18, 2023.
Far from intimidating him, Pannun said the ongoing threats reinforce his belief that his advocacy is effective. “The continued threats give me courage and confidence that my campaign and outspokenness is working,” he said. “I’m going to continue, even at the cost of a bullet.”