Chandigarh, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Monday lambasted Canada for its “overt and covert” support to the Khalistani movement, warning that its failure to check anti-India activities being carried out from its soil would be detrimental to its own security.
Citing findings of the John Major Commission into the 1985 Kanishka bombing as a clear endorsement of Canada’s failure to act against Khalistanis operating from its soil, the Chief Minister said that by allowing the conspirators of the “mass murder”, the Canadian government had exposed its true intent.
“It is more than apparent that Canada has been extending its support to Khalistanis despite New Delhi’s protestations,” said Singh.
Pointing out that he himself had been raising the issue with the Canadian government, the Chief Minster said he had even given a list of “wanted terrorists” in Canada to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during the latter’s India visit last year.
“The lack of response from their government so far has exposed their intent,” he said in a statement.
The Chief Minister cited the Canadian Security Intelligence Service’s 2018 Public Report to express concern over the fact that anti-India activities were on the rise in Canada.
“The report points out that these activities pose a threat not just to the target country India, but also to the security of Canada,” said Amarinder Singh.
He added that support to any kind of violence or terrorism would eventually be devastating for the entire global community, including nations that were blatantly backing them.
Amarinder Singh urged the Narendra Modi government at the Centre to take serious cognisance of these reports and disclosures to mount global pressure on Canada to put an end to the use of its soil to unleash terror against India, particularly the Sikh community.
The Chief Minister said that India had, for too long, been soft towards Canada but needed to crack a whip aggressively now. “Even seek UN sanctions, if needed, to end the growing threat once and for all,” he added.
