External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday said that India has requested "partner countries" like Canada, the United States, the UK, and Australia not to give space to the Khalistanis. "This will affect our relations. We will raise this poster issue with the government of these countries," he said. Jaishankar was responding to the matter of names of Indian diplomats on Khalistani posters in Canada.
Jaishankar also said that the radical mindset of Khalistanis was harmful to both India and its partner countries where they lived. "Such extremist mindset is detrimental to our bilateral relations," he said. The EAM's statement comes at a time when posters are being circulated in Canada informing pro-Khalistan residents of a rally to be held on July 8. The rally is being held in the memory of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a pro-Khalistan priest who was found murdered outside a gurdwara in Surrey, British Colombia. The posters caused concerns for the Government of India as they threatened India’s high commissioner to Ottawa Sanjay Kumar Verma and consulate general in Toronto Apoorva Srivastava.
Nijjar was involved in anti-India activities for a long time and had also organised a separatist referendum in Brampton. Nijjar was the president of Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in the Surrey City and was associated with the separatist organisation, Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), which is banned in India.
Legal counsel for Sikhs for Justice, Gurpatwant Pannun, called the Nijjar's death an “assassination" and blamed India for it.
Right after the posters surfaced, India, through informal channels, contacted Global Affairs Canada (the country's foreign ministry), the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), and the Ottawa and Toronto police departments, reported Hindustan Times. The issue will soon be formally raised with the governments of countries where pro-Khalistan activities are frequent, said Jaishankar.
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