New Delhi, September 15, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Banned outfit Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) has allegedly intensified its propaganda campaign across Punjab ahead of next year’s Assembly elections, with local operatives being directed to put up pro-Khalistan posters and paint secessionist graffiti in rural areas, according to intelligence officials.
Officials said the campaign is being carried out on the instructions of SFJ chief Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who is a proscribed terrorist. The outfit is allegedly seeking to expand poster propaganda and vandalism with the aim of creating communal divisions, inciting tensions and increasing the visibility of its pro-Khalistan messaging.
An official said SFJ members in Punjab had been asked to focus particularly on rural areas, where they are being directed to put up posters and paint pro-Khalistan messages on walls.
Another official said operatives have also been instructed to record their activities and send the videos to Pannun. According to officials, the videos are then intended to be circulated widely to create tensions and potentially encourage more young people to associate themselves with the movement.
An Intelligence Bureau official said Pannun has a strong social media team and alleged that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has invested significantly in the network because of the importance of propaganda.
Officials said rural Punjab has been deliberately targeted because the SFJ allegedly considers sections of the population there more vulnerable to misinformation. They also claimed that limited awareness or access to fact-checking tools could make it easier to circulate misleading content, including material related to religion.
According to officials, another objective of the campaign is to divert the attention of security agencies and keep them occupied with propaganda-related activities. This, they alleged, could create opportunities for cross-border elements to smuggle arms, ammunition and narcotics.
The latest campaign comes after Delhi Police arrested three men last week for allegedly painting pro-Khalistan graffiti at the Singhu border ahead of the BRICS Summit. Police reportedly found that the activity had been carried out at the behest of SFJ. The graffiti included messages such as “Dismantle Modi’s BRICS”, “Khalistan SFJ”, “Khalistan Zindabad” and “SFJ Khalistan America First”.
Security agencies are simultaneously preparing for the Punjab Assembly elections and dealing with the continuing threat posed by drones allegedly being used to deliver arms, ammunition and narcotics from Pakistan.
Officials said the sophisticated nature of the drones has made detection and interception increasingly challenging. They alleged that the proceeds from narcotics smuggling are being used to fund terror activities in Jammu and Kashmir and efforts to revive the Khalistan movement in Punjab.
The officials also said SFJ has been recruiting young people without previous police records to carry out relatively simple assignments, making them harder for security agencies to identify.
According to officials, operatives are paid between Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000 for putting up individual propaganda posters, with payments allegedly routed through the outfit’s operatives and contacts in Punjab.
An official further claimed that SFJ has also sought to recruit drug addicts for such activities, considering them vulnerable because of their need for money to purchase narcotics.
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