Top News

An "Embassy of the Republic of Khalistan" has surfaced within the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Canada's Surrey, a location with history tied to the Khalistan movement. Radical Sikh groups in British Columbia have established the so-called 'embassy,' which features a board reading "Republic of Khalistan".

This comes just as India and Canada were appearing to be navigating to work on the improvement of their diplomatic ties, which were strained following Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar's killing in 2023.

Notably, Nijjar once headed this gurdwara, and was in fact gunned down in 2023 in the parking lot of this very place.

This building where this self-styled 'embassy' has surfaced was allegedly funded by the Government of British Columbia. The provincial government recently allocated $150,000 to intsall an elevator here, CNN-News 18 reported.

The timing of this symbolic setup coincides with preparations for a controversial "Khalistan referendum," organised by the banned Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) amid heightened tensions, with Indian security agencies watching closely, a report by India Today said.

The emergence of the so-called embassy casts a shadow over recent attempts to repair bilateral ties, including the landmark face-to-face meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney at the G7 summit earlier this year.

Both sides had expressed hopes of moving past the diplomatic rupture caused by Nijjar's death and the unfounded accusations from former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleging Indian government involvement. These claims by Canada have been firmly denied by India.

India has long voiced concerns about Canadian soil serving as a hub for Khalistani groups to promote separatism, raise funds, and potentially plan violent acts against India. The establishment of this symbolic 'embassy' has only strengthened India’s argument that Ottawa has failed to curb such extremist activity on its soil, an issue raised persistently since the 1985 Air India bombing that claimed 329 lives.

India’s constant warnings have found validation in Canada’s own intelligence assessments. For the first time in June, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) publicly acknowledged the threat posed by Khalistani extremists operating within its borders, classifying them as a source of politically motivated violent extremism (PMVE).

Their annual report noted that while no attacks linked to these Canada-based extremists occurred in 2024, these groups remain active in fundraising and plotting violence abroad. This marked a pivotal moment as CSIS officially used the term "extremism" in relation to the Khalistan movement for the first time.

Meanwhile, an investigation into Nijjar’s murder is underway in Canada. In May 2024, four suspects were arrested and charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy, deepening the diplomatic sensitivity surrounding the case.