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‘Designate them as terrorists’: New Delhi tells Canada on anti-India elements
The Canadian government has responded to India’s calls to stop the referendum by saying it respects India’s sovereignty but cannot act on such matters unless domestic laws are violated.
NEW DELHI: India on Thursday called on the Canadian government to designate as terrorists those individuals and entities that have been listed under Indian anti-terrorism laws in the context of a so-called referendum on Khalistan being organised in Canada.
Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), which has already been banned in India, is organising the referendum on Khalistan or so-called independent homeland for Sikhs in Canada in two phases. The Canadian government has responded to India’s calls to stop the referendum by saying it respects India’s sovereignty but cannot act on such matters unless domestic laws are violated.
“Our position on the efforts by anti-India elements to hold a so-called Khalistan referendum is well known. It has been conveyed to the Canadian government, both in New Delhi and in Canada,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi told a weekly news briefing.
“We will continue to press the government of Canada in this matter. We call upon them to prevent anti-India activities by individuals and groups based in their country and to designate as terrorists, under their law, individuals and entities who have been declared as terrorists under our law,” Bagchi said, without naming any group.
“That gives you a sense of what we would really like them to do,” he added.
The Khalistan referendum, one phase of which was completed in September, has emerged as a fresh irritant in India-Canada ties, which have been hit by a downturn in recent years, largely because of the Indian government’s ire at the activities of pro-Khalistani elements based in Canada.
“The government of Canada has conveyed that they respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India and they will not recognise the so-called referendum…The Canadian high commissioner here and their deputy foreign minister reiterated this perspective earlier this week in separate statements,” Bagchi said.
“However, let me reiterate what we said last time – which is that we find it deeply objectionable that politically motivated exercises by extremist elements are allowed to take place in a friendly country and you are all aware of the history of violence in this regard,” he added.
