The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has said that the Canadian government must ensure security for the Indian Consulate in Vancouver after a threat was issued by the US-based Khalistani group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ).
“It is the responsibility of the Canadian government, the host government, to provide security,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated at the weekly news briefing on Friday.
He added that whenever such concerns arise, India takes them up with the other side, noting that the National Security Advisers of both countries recently held talks as part of regular bilateral security consultations.
The remarks followed SFJ’s announcement that it would “siege” the Indian Consulate in Vancouver on Thursday, September 18.
The group urged Indo-Canadians to avoid the premises and circulated a poster showing a target mark on the face of India’s new High Commissioner to Canada, Dinish Patnaik.
SFJ linked the move to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s September 18, 2023, address in Parliament, where he had claimed that the alleged role of Indian agents in the killing of NIA-designated terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar was under investigation.
The separatist outfit alleged that Indian consulates continued to operate “spy networks” against Khalistan Referendum campaigners and called the situation “so grave” that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police had placed Inderjeet Singh Gosal, who assumed leadership of the referendum campaign after Nijjar’s killing, under witness protection.
According to SFJ, its proposed action outside the Indian Consulate was aimed at seeking “accountability” for what it termed espionage and intimidation on Canadian soil.
Nijjar, a Canadian Sikh leader, was shot dead outside a gurudwara on June 18, 2023.
Trudeau later accused the Indian government of involvement in his death, a charge New Delhi rejected as “absurd” and “motivated,” while blaming Ottawa for allowing extremist and anti-India activities to flourish.