Sikh groups plan protests during PM Modi’s G7 visit to Canada

LONDON: Sikh groups tied to the Khalistan movement are preparing a wave of protests against PM Narendra Modi during his visit to Canada for the G7 summit at Kananaskis in Alberta from June 15 to 17.Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), a banned outfit leading an unofficial global Khalistan referendum, released a video vowing to “ambush Modi politics from landing to take-off”. SFJ’s general counsel Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, designated a terrorist by India, accused Modi of exporting “transnational terrorism from Pakistan to Canada”.“I want to thank Mark Carney — more of a businessman than a Canadian PM — for giving pro-Khalistan Sikhs a historic opportunity to ambush Modi’s politics right in front of G7 nations,” Pannun said in the video.SFJ claimed the protests aim to force G7 nations to hold Modi accountable for the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen and Khalistan advocate killed last June, as well as an alleged “murder-for-hire” plot targeting referendum organisers. Pannun also accused India of unleashing Operation Sindoor, which he described using Pakistani terminology as a “terror attack on Pakistan targeting masjids”.

India conducted precision airstrikes under Operation Sindoor on sites tied to Pakistan-backed terrorism, a fortnight after the April 22 terrorist attack in J&K’s Pahalgam that claimed 26 lives — all men, mostly tourists.Sikh Federation Canada also condemned Modi’s invitation, urging Ottawa to rescind it unless New Delhi cooperates with criminal probes linked to Nijjar’s killing and other alleged transnational plots.The group demanded targeted sanctions on Indian brass, including Union home minister Amit Shah. It further called on Canada to “publicly reaffirm that it will demand accountability from India for documented interference, violence, and assassination plots in Canada”.Canadian govt has yet to respond to the protest calls or the demand to revoke Modi’s G7 invitation.