Indians counter Khalistani protesters with Tricolour in Canada

The members of the Indian community unitedly countered a Khalistani activists with the Tricolour outside the Indian consulate in Toronto late on Saturday. Khalistani activists stood outside the consulate with their flags while members of the Indian community held a counter-demonstration and waved the Indian Tricolour to send out a clear message to separatist elements. This comes days after posters with Indian diplomats in Canada and London surfaced on social media announcing a pro-Khalistan rally on Saturday.

A pro-Khalistan protest outside the Indian High Commission in London was relatively subdued and passed off without incident on Saturday. The demonstration, which took place between 12:30 pm and 2:30 pm, lasted less time than planned. In stark contrast to the larger protests held at the same location earlier this year, only a small number of people braved the rain to attend the protest.

The protest was part of a series of protests held in cities around the world, including Melbourne, San Francisco, and Toronto, to condemn the June 18 killing of Khalistani activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia. Nijjar was wanted on terrorism charges in India.

According to reports, the protesters in London held banners depicting India's High Commissioner to the UK and its Consul General in Birmingham, accusing them of being responsible for Nijjar's death. Similar posters depicting the heads of various Indian missions around the world have recently circulated on social media platforms.

Among the protesters, in addition to pro-Khalistan banners, there were also posters expressing support for Pakistan and Kashmir, according to the report. The presence of these posters emphasised the larger geopolitical dynamics at work in the protest.

Meanwhile, India has asked the British government to immediately deport or prosecute the Khalistani elements in their country even as Indian diplomats have become "individual targets" that has become a huge cause of concern for New Delhi. The matter was discussed at length during a meeting between National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval and his British counterpart Tim Barrow in New Delhi. “The two sides agreed to enhance cooperation to address violent extremism and radicalism. There can be no justification for violent extremism and radicalisation in a democracy,” an official source told ABP Live.