Khalistani group SFJ threatens ‘siege’ of Indian Consulate in Vancouver, targets High Commissioner Dinesh Patnaik

The banned Khalistani group, Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), has threatened to lay “siege” to the Indian Consulate in Vancouver on 18 September. The group has warned Indians and Indo-Canadians to stay away from the consulate and has circulated a poster targeting High Commissioner Dinesh Patnaik, according to a News18 report.

What threat has Sikhs for Justice issued against Dinesh Patnaik?

The banned Khalistani organisation SFJ issued its warning via the microblogging platform X (formerly Twitter), urging Indians and Indo-Canadians to avoid visiting the consulate.

The poster circulated by the group shows India’s High Commissioner to Ottawa, Dinesh Patnaik, with a target over his face, accompanied by a cautionary message for the public.

Why is this SFJ threat significant?

The threat comes in the wake of a Canadian government report that acknowledges the presence and foreign funding of Khalistani terrorist groups operating from within the country.

The report underscores the continued risks posed by these organisations to Indian diplomatic missions abroad.

Which Khalistani groups are being funded in Canada?

The report, “2025 Assessment of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Risks in Canada,” highlights financial support to extremist groups, including Babbar Khalsa International and the International Sikh Youth Federation.

Several organisations listed as terrorist entities under Canada’s Criminal Code, including Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Khalistani groups, have been observed by law enforcement and intelligence agencies to receive financial backing from sources within Canada.

The report noted that while Khalistani extremist groups once maintained extensive fundraising networks in Canada, they now appear to operate in smaller clusters of individuals loyal to the cause but not formally tied to a single organisation.

“Khalistani extremist groups supporting violent means to establish an independent state within Punjab, India, are suspected of raising funds in a number of countries, including Canada. These groups previously had an extensive fundraising network in Canada, but now appear to consist of smaller pockets of individuals with allegiance to the cause but seemingly no particular affiliation to a specific group,” the report revealed.

Notably, this report was published two months after a report by Ottawa’s intelligence agency said a politically motivated violent extremism threat in Canada since the mid-1980s had manifested through Khalistani extremists seeking to use violent means to create an independent nation state called Khalistan within India’s Punjab.

(With agency inputs)