VANCOUVER — The US-based Khalistani separatist group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) has issued a dramatic threat to “siege” the Indian Consulate in Vancouver on Thursday, September 18, calling on Indo-Canadians to avoid the premises for the day, according to Indian media news.
SFJ released a poster showing India’s new High Commissioner to Canada, Dinesh Patnaik, with a target over his face, labeling him as the “new face of India’s Hindutva terror in Canada.”
The group alleges that Indian consulates in Canada are operating spy networks and carrying out surveillance against campaigners for a Khalistan referendum.
According to the notice, SFJ plans a 12-hour siege of the consulate from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. local time.
They assert that threats against activists have been so severe that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) provided “witness protection” to Inderjeet Singh Gosal, who stepped into leadership of SFJ’s referendum campaign after the death of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in 2023.
The threat comes at a sensitive moment: diplomatic relations between India and Canada have been undergoing a reset, with new high commissioners recently named in both capitals.
Neither India’s Ministry of External Affairs nor the Indian Consulate in Vancouver has responded publicly to SFJ’s latest announcement.
Also raising concern, a recent Canadian government assessment revealed that extremist Khalistani groups—including Babbar Khalsa International and the International Sikh Youth Federation—continue to receive financial support from networks within Canada. These groups are officially listed as terrorist organizations under Canadian law.
Canada’s Minister of Public Safety, Dominic A. LeBlanc, said “the promotion of violence is never acceptable in Canada,” responding to the SFJ’s threats and poster.
So far, India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has not issued a public statement specifically about this newest siege threat by SFJ. Media reports confirm no immediate comment from India or from the Indian Consulate in Vancouver at this time.
