EDMONTON — A US-based Khalistani succession group announced its strategy on Sunday to help topple Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as the group claimed more than 23,000 people voted outside the Alberta Legislature Building in a referendum calling for the Punjabi region's independence from India.Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) unveiled its “Fifth-Generation Warfare” strategy as part of plans to fund and support the Indian Cockroach Janta Party's (CJP) efforts to “topple Modi's regime.”The plan involves holding Khalistan independence referendums around the world, funding and supporting CJP and other youth political movements within India opposing Modi's government, and “killing Modi's India economically” by urging foreign investors to “abandon [the] Indian market.”.SFJ general counsel Gurpatwant Singh Pannun encouraged Sikh youth around the world to “take arms training” and join the Sikh Homeland Security Defensive Force, saying its purpose is “lawful community protection and defensive preparedness.”“Modi will face the Khalistan challenge from touchdown to takeoff in Canada and America,” Pannun said, referring to Modi's scheduled trip to North America in December.SFJ is designated as a terrorist organization in India, and Pannun claims to have faced multiple assassination plots allegedly linked to the Indian government. He told CBS on Thursday that the FBI had warned him of an “imminent threat to my life,” potentially linked to his trip to Edmonton.The FBI did not confirm the warning to CBS..The Khalistan referendum in Edmonton was part of a series of non-binding referendums organized by SFJ and the Punjab Referendum Commission around the world. The votes are symbolic and have no direct legal effect on Punjab's status or sovereignty.SFJ claimed that 23,000 Sikhs voted at the Edmonton event, where speakers supporting Khalistan independence championed the cause and condemned Modi.Among the reported speakers was SFJ Ottawa organizer Santokh Singh Khela, who was convicted in 1986 of conspiracy to commit murder in connection with an alleged plot to bomb an Air India flight. The conviction was later overturned, and the proceedings ultimately ended in a stay of charges following a lengthy appeals process.Chants of “Kill Modi Politics” and “Long Live Khalistan” were heard at the event. Organizers also led a moment of silence in honour of the victims of Saturday's incident at CFB Wainwright.Previous referendums have been held in Canadian cities including Calgary, Ottawa and Surrey, as well as in countries including the United Kingdom, the United States, New Zealand, Italy and Switzerland. The next referendum is scheduled to be held in an Australian city on March 21, 2027.
