Sikhs for Justice (Khalistan Referendum) and Surrey's Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara management want the federal government to permanently shut down Indian consulates in Vancouver and Toronto, laying out their desired course action Tuesday as tensions mount between Canada and India over the slaying of temple president Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
During a presser at the gurdwara a statement issued by Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a New York lawyer representing Sikhs for Justice (SfJ), maintains this is necessary "to decimate the Indian spy network operating in Canada which is threatening life and liberty of pro-Khalistan Sikhs."
The organization plans to hold "Shut Down Indian Terror Houses" rallies at Indian consulates in Vancouver and Toronto on Friday, Oct. 18 beginning at 12:30 p.m.
Jatinder Singh Grewal, a B.C. director with SfJ, charged that "the Indians do not want Sikhs to express their political opinion freely and exercise their Charter rights in Canada, and that's it. They believe they have a monopoly on our lives, on our voices."
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau claims India has fundamentally violated Canada’s sovereignty and international law by targeting Canadians with murder, extortion and coercion. He held a news conference after the RCMP announced the “extraordinary” step of warning the public about safety threats to Canadians linked to Indian government officials.
Nijjar, 45, was shot to death on June 18, 2023 in the parking lot of Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara, in the 7000-block of Scott Road in Newton. He was found in his truck. The accused will be back in court on Nov. 21. Amandeep Singh, 22, Karan Brar, 22, Kamalpreet Singh, 22, and Karanpreet Singh, 28, are charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
Nijjar was an ardent supporter of securing an independent Sikh nation in India called Khalistan, and his supporters maintain India's government was involved in his killing. His supporters burned Indian flags outside the courthouse on Oct. 1.
On Monday both countries expelled six diplomats each after Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly would expel six, including the high commissioner, after police uncovered evidence of a targeted campaign against Canadian citizens by agents of the Indian government.
Shortly afterward, the Indian foreign ministry said that it was expelling six Canadian diplomats, including the acting high commissioner and the deputy high commissioner. It said in a statement that the diplomats were told to leave India by the end of Saturday.
The Government of India called Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s claim “absurd” after he told the House of Commons on Sept. 18, 2023 that there is “credible” intelligence linking Indian government agents to the Surrey killing.
But on Monday, Moninder Singh, spokesman for the BC Gurdwaras Council, issued a statement that Sikhs in Canada "will not be silenced by Indian threats but will continue to take inspiration from Shaheed Bhai Hardeep Singh Nijjar and freely advocate for justice and Sikh sovereignty, Khalistan."
"The RCMP has publicly acknowleged that India diplomats have been involved in orchestrating a wave of violence against Sikhs in Canada, specifically targeting those actively advocating for an independent, sovereign Khalistan," Singh said.
Meantime, Air India flight 127, the subject of a bomb threat, made an emergency landing in Iqaluit, Nunavut at approximately 5:21 a.m on Monday.
The flight had left New Delhi and was en route to Chicago. All 211 passenger and crew successfully disembarked the aircraft and temporarily took shelter at Iqaluit International airport.
Pierre Payette, airport services direction at Iqaluit International Airport, told Nunavut News that a "unspecified bomb threat from a person in India to Air India" was communicated to the flight's captain by the airline.
– with files from The Canadian Press and Kira Wronska Dorward
