Indo-Canada Business Event Targeted: Pro-Khalistan Protesters Attempt Disruption

In Edmonton, the capital of the Alberta province, an interaction with business leaders was conducted by India's High Commissioner to Ottawa, Sanjay Kumar Verma, while local law enforcement ensured that pro-Khalistan supporters were prevented from disrupting the event.

The event, organized by the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC), was targeted by the separatist group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), which had called for the protest. However, despite the attempt, nearly 200 invitees attended the event, including Edmonton Mayor Amarjeet Sohi, a former Cabinet minister in Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's first government formed in 2015.

Indo-Canada Business Event Targeted

Verma, in a statement, mentioned that "the pro-Khalistan elements tried to disrupt the event, but they did not have any success." The number of protesters outside the venue, the Evario Events Center, was approximately 80. In light of the perceived threat, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), responsible for diplomatic security, along with the Edmonton Police Service, took measures to block the protesters gathered outside from gaining entry to the venue or disrupting the event, as reported by Hindustan Times.

Verma was escorted into the venue by a security detail, which also ensured his safe departure after the event concluded late on Monday evening. SFJ had issued flyers before the event identifying the organizers from ICCC, including its Edmonton chapter chair Ravi Prakash Singh, who described the event as the "most successful" held by the chamber in Edmonton. Singh emphasized that the event was "non-political, non-religious" and "purely about business and trade between India and Canada."

A similar attempt was made earlier this month as the Indian High Commissioner attended an event organized by the Surrey Board of Trade in the town of British Columbia on March 2. SFJ's general counsel Gurpatwant Pannun has stated that pro-Khalistan elements will "continue to target Verma."

The protests are being held in connection with the killing of pro-Khalistan figure Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey on June 18 last year, which caused a rupture in the bilateral relationship after Trudeau stated in the House of Commons three months later that there were "credible allegations" of a potential link between Indian agents and the murder, as reported Hindustan Times.