WASHINGTON: More than 23,000 votes were reportedly cast in Edmonton, Canada, on Sunday in a referendum-style exercise organized by Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), which seeks an independent Sikh homeland in India’s Punjab. Voting was extended beyond the scheduled closing time to accommodate people waiting in line, organizers said.

Held on Oct 18 at the Alberta Legislature Grounds, the non-binding exercise was part of SFJ’s international campaign for Khalistan, an independent Sikh state. It had no official standing.

The more consequential development was SFJ general counsel Gurpatwant Singh Pannun’s announcement of a three-pronged strategy to challenge Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government: continue overseas referendums, support political and youth movements opposing the government inside India, and press foreign investors to withdraw from Indian markets.

Describing the initiative as “Fifth-Generation Warfare,” Pannun declared that “toppling Modi’s regime” was his immediate political objective.

“Toppling Modi’s regime is a step forward” in SFJ’s struggle, he said, adding, “Our struggle continues.”

Pannun, a US-based lawyer and prominent advocate of Sikh separatism, is a dual US-Canadian citizen. India designated him an individual terrorist in 2020 and has banned SFJ under its anti-terrorism law. He has also been the target of an alleged assassination plot in the United States.

In February 2026, Indian national Nikhil Gupta pleaded guilty in a US court to charges connected with a plot to murder a US citizen at the direction of an Indian government employee, according to the US Justice Department.

Published in Dawn, October 21st, 2026