News Brief
Khalistani Separatists Open ‘Embassy Of Khalistan’ At Surrey Gurdwara, Backed By State Funds
'Embassy of Khalistan' in Surrey (Credit: CNN-News18)
In a provocative move, the Khalistani outfit Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), in collaboration with the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara Temple, has established a so-called ‘Embassy of Khalistan’ in Surrey, Canada, as per a CNN-News18 report.
A board reading ‘Republic of Khalistan’ now marks the entrance of a building on the gurdwara premises, a known community hub.
Local residents told CNN-News18 that the building housing the “embassy” was constructed with funding from the provincial government of British Columbia.
Recently, the provincial government reportedly allocated $150,000 to install an elevator in the facility.
This incident comes just months after Canada’s intelligence agency, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), made a striking public disclosure.
India has repeatedly flagged concerns over Khalistani extremism on Canadian soil.
Since the mid-1980s, Canada-based Khalistani extremists (CBKEs) have pushed for an independent Khalistan state, largely carved out of Punjab, through political violence.
The CSIS categorised this activity under Politically Motivated Violent Extremism (PMVE), which it defines as encouraging the use of violence to establish new political systems or new structures or norms within existing systems.
It noted that PMVE actors not only promote but also plan, finance and facilitate attacks globally in pursuit of such aims.
