External Affairs Minister has made it clear that New Delhi has taken up the issue of extremist violence and anti-India activities in Canada with the Trudeau government, and is not satisfied with the response from Ottawa
India has taken strong exception to the Justin Trudeau administration not taking adequate steps to curb anti-India activities in Canada being carried out by extremist outfits such as the proscribed Sikhs for Justice which has led to the souring of bilateral relations between the two countries.
India’s External Affairs Minister has made it clear that New Delhi has taken up the issue of extremist violence and anti-India activities in Canada with the Trudeau government, and is not satisfied with the response from Ottawa.
Jaishankar while replying to a journalist in Canberra, Australia yesterday said that Canada should not allow freedom of expression to be misused by anti-India forces preaching violence and bigotry.
Jagmeet Singh, a Canadian MP and a leader of the New Democratic Party that supports the Trudeau government, recently made an irresponsible statement during an interview with a Vancouver-based Punjabi radio channel “welcomed the demand” of separatist forces to carve out a Sikh homeland outside India. Such loose talk also creates differences in the Indian diaspora.
However, Trudeau is looking at political expediency and does not appear to be serious about reining in such elements.
India has served a demarche to the Justin Trudeau government asking it to bridle forces behind the so-called Khalistan referendum. The second leg of the referendum is slated to be held in Mississauga, Ontario on November 6.
New Delhi has flagged its strong concern that the exercise will be used to divide the Indian diaspora by allowing students to vote under the aegis of the proscribed Sikh for Justice organization.
Canada in response to a note verbale issued by India has said it “will not recognise the so-called referendum” organised by the Sikhs for Justice but at the same time cited its lack of jurisdiction to instruct the municipal authorities of the city of Brampton and Mississauga not to allow the use of public properties for holding an anti-India referendum.
The Canadian government’s letter to the Indian High Commission tries to explain away the incidents of vandalism of Hindu temples like that of Swaminarayan mandir in Brampton, by saying that several suspects were arrested by the police in March this year and further investigations were going on.
The Sikh extremists are also brazenly supported by the Pakistan Consul General in Vancouver who had also timed his visit to a gurudwara in Brampton at the time the so-called referendum was being carried out. India’s hostile neighbour is known for promoting cross-border terrorism and harbouring terrorist groups on its soil.
Pak diplomat holds meeting with Sikh radicals
More evidence has surfaced to show that Pakistan is continuing with its insidious policy of inciting Sikh radicals to carry out anti-India activities in Canada.
According to sources, Pakistan’s Consul General Janbaz Khan visited two pro-Khalistan Gurudwaras in the Surrey suburb of Vancouver ostensibly to thank the office-bearers for their donations to flood relief in Pakistan.
The timing of the visit coincided with the so-called “Sikh Referendum” held on September 18 by extremist elements in Brampton, Ontario. The top Pakistani diplomat was accompanied by two of his colleagues and held secret meetings with pro-Khalistan radicals to express support for their cause.
Khan has also served as Pakistan’s High Commissioner in New Delhi and has first-hand knowledge of India’s socio-economic milieu which helps him to mix around with the people albeit as an agent provocateur.
The top Pakistani diplomat met the office-bearers of Sri Dashmesh Darbar Gurdwara and Guru Nanak Sikh Gurudwara in Surrey who are known for their anti-India views.
An aggressive extremist group backed by Pakistan’s notorious ISI has taken control of the management of the gurudwaras with the silent majority choosing to avoid any confrontation with them.
The president of Guru Nanak Sikh Gurudwara, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, has a Rs 10 lakh bounty on his head as he is wanted in four cases by India’s anti-terror agency NIA. The cases include the conspiracy of carrying out targeted killings in Punjab as part of which a Hindu priest was also killed at Phillaur in Punjab.
A dossier prepared by the Punjab police reveals that Nijjar was a close associate of Jagtar Singh Tara earlier based in Pakistan in 2012. He visited Pakistan in April 2012 to meet Tara. Nijjar raised a Khalistan Tiger Force module in Punjab by motivating Parminder Kala, a resident of Mughal Majri in Ropar district for targeting Baba Piara Singh Bhaniarawala and Sanjeev Ghanouli, a Shiv Sena leader, for their alleged anti-panthic activities.
In December 2015 Nijjar reportedly organised an arms training camp in Mission Hills, BC, Canada wherein Mandeep Singh Dhaliwal originally a resident of Chak Kalan in the Ludhiana district, and 3 other youths were imparted training to use AK-47 assault rifles, sniper rifles, and pistols. Mandeep was sent to Punjab in January 2016 to carry out targeted killings but he was arrested in June before he could execute the plan.
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