Pro-Khalistan groups want to hold a gathering near Indian embassies in Canada. The Canadian government says this is “unacceptable,” and it is worried about the safety of its top diplomats.
Melanie Joly, Canada’s minister of foreign affairs, said on Twitter on Monday night: “Canada takes its responsibilities under the Vienna Conventions very seriously when it comes to the safety of diplomats. Canada stays in close touch with Indian officials because some of the online ads for a protest planned for July 8 are unacceptable.
Anita Anand, the minister of national defence, also said something similar on Twitter. She said, “The materials posted online for a protest on July 8 are unacceptable and do not reflect Canadians. Canada will keep making sure foreign diplomats in this country are safe, and we take this duty very seriously.
Pro-Khalistan groups put up a poster with violent images, the words “Kill India,” and pictures of India’s high commissioner in Ottawa, Sanjay Kumar Verna, its consul general in Toronto, Apoorva Srivastava, and its consul in Vancouver, Manish. This has made people feel more worried about the safety of Indian missions and envoys.
India has already told the Canadian foreign minister, Global Affairs Canada (GAC), the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), which is in charge of protecting diplomats, and local police in Ottawa, Toronto, and Vancouver about its concerns.
Reports of a fire at the Indian embassy in San Francisco have made people more worried about their safety.
A high-ranking Indian official said that these details were being given to Canadian officials and that they were being “made aware” of these problems.
The official also said that law enforcement agencies already seem to be doing more security checks at the missions in Canada.
The Indian ambassador to Washington, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, and the Indian consul general in San Francisco, Nagendra Prasad, were shown on a poster that was similar to those that were sent to Canadian officials.
A top Indian official said, “The arson in the US shows that violence is a real risk.”
The “Khalistan Freedom Rally” is being held in honor of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was killed on June 18 in the parking lot of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia. To get to the Indian Consulate in Toronto, one will leave from a business center in the town of Malton, which is in the Greater Toronto Area, or GTA. Another one, led by Nijjar, will leave the gurdwara and go to the Indian Consulate in Vancouver.
