Attack On Indian Missions By 'Separatist Elements': MEA Summons Canada Envoy

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Saturday, 25 March, summoned the High Commissioner of Canada after a security breach at the Indian embassy in Ottawa.

The MEA said that the summons were issued “to convey our strong concern about the actions of separatist and extremist elements against our diplomatic Mission and Consulates in Canada this week”.

This comes close at the heels of senior diplomats of the United Kingdom (UK) as well as the United States of America (USA) were summoned to lodge India’s protest against the vandalism at its High Commission in London by a group of people chanting pro-Khalistan slogans and a similar incident of desecration in San Francisco.

In an official statement issued on Sunday, the MEA said, “It is expected that the Canadian Government will take all steps which are required to ensure the safety of our diplomats and security of our diplomatic premises so that they are able to fulfil their normal diplomatic functions.”

India’s foreign ministry also sought an explanation on “how such elements were allowed, in the presence of police, to breach the security of our diplomatic Mission and Consulates.”

Arrest Those Involved: MEA

Reminding the Canadian government of its obligations under the Vienna Convention, India asked it to arrest and prosecute those “who have already been identified as being involved in such acts”.

Canada is home to a significant number of Indians, especially from Punjab. The MEA, in September 2022, had issued an advisory for Indian nationals and students in Canada and a “sharp increase in incidents of hate crime, sectarian violence, and anti-India activities” in the country.

Multiple incidents of vandalism at Indian missions have recently been reported in the UK and the USA. Protestors chanting pro-Khalistan slogans had taken down the Indian flag at the Indian High Commission in London a couple of weeks ago.

A similar incident was reported from San Francisco last Sunday, where miscreants broke makeshift security barriers and installed two “Khalistani flags” inside the Indian Consulate premises.