Khalistani Outfit Threatens To Siege Indian Consulate in Vancouver, Shares Poster Targeting New Envoy
Synopsis
Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), a US-based Khalistani group, has threatened to "siege" the Indian Consulate in Vancouver, Canada, after New Delhi and Ottawa have resumed diplomatic ties.
US-based Khalistani outfit, Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), has once again ignited tensions by threatening to "siege" the Indian Consulate in Vancouver on September 18, just as New Delhi and Ottawa resumed diplomatic relations. The separatist group announced its plan to "take over" the consulate, urging Indo-Canadians to stay away from the premises. SFJ circulated a poster portraying India’s new High Commissioner, Dinish Patnaik, with a target symbol emblazoned on his face.
The group anchored its latest call to action in Canadian political history, pointing to former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s statement in Parliament on September 18, 2023. At the time, Trudeau had alleged that Indian agents were under investigation for their purported involvement in the assassination of NIA-designated terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
“Two years on, Indian Consulates continue to run a spy network and surveillance targeting Khalistan Referendum campaigners,” SFJ declared, alleging that the threat environment had grown "so grave" that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) had placed Inderjeet Singh Gosal who assumed leadership of the referendum campaign after Nijjar’s killing under "witness protection."
The group described the impending “siege” as a demand for “accountability” against what it claimed was “espionage and intimidation on Canadian soil.”
The threat comes in the wake of a Canadian government report earlier this month that formally acknowledged the active presence of Khalistani terror groups within the country.
Diplomatic thaw between India and Canada had only recently begun, with both nations naming new high commissioners after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Canadian counterpart Mark Carney struck an understanding during Modi’s G7 summit visit in June.
Relations between the two countries had been strained since June 2023, when Trudeau declared his government had “credible allegations” implicating Indian agents in Nijjar’s assassination outside a gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia. India strongly rejected those claims as “absurd” and “motivated,” while accusing Canada of willfully ignoring extremist elements operating on its soil.