After the Canadian Parliament held a moment of silence in memory of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the Indian Consulate General in Vancouver announced that it would hold a memorial service to pay tribute to the 329 victims of the 1985 Air India Kanishka bombing, which was carried out by Khalistanis.
“India is at the forefront of countering the menace of terrorism and works closely with all countries to confront this global menace. June 23, 2024 marks the 39th anniversary of the heinous terrorist bombing of Air India Flight 182 (Kanishka), in which 329 innocent victims, including 86 children, died in one of the most heinous terror-related air accidents in the history of civil aviation,” the Consulate General posted on X.
“A memorial service is planned for 23rd June 2024 at 6:30pm at the Air India Memorial in the Separley Playground area of Stanley Park. @cgivancouver invites members of Indian descent to join the event in a show of solidarity against terrorism. @HCI_Ottawa,” it added.
An Air India flight from Montreal to London was hit by a bomb planted by a Canadian Sikh terrorist at 31,000 feet above the ground. Of the 329 passengers killed, 268 were Canadians, 27 were British nationals, and 24 were Indians. The bombing remains one of the deadliest incidents of aviation terrorism.
The Indian consulate’s post came shortly after the Canadian parliament held a moment of silence in memory of Nijjar, who was shot dead outside a gurdwara in British Columbia last year. The Canadian government, led by Justin Trudeau, has alleged that Indian officials may have been involved in the killing, an allegation the Indian government denies as motivated and absurd. Relations between the two countries have deteriorated sharply since then.
Nijjar’s murder is being investigated by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and four Indian nationals have been arrested.
“I understand that after discussions between representatives from across the political spectrum in the House of Commons, we have agreed to observe a moment of silence in memory of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was assassinated one year ago today in Surrey, British Columbia,” Speaker Greg Fergus said at the start of the memorial.
This comes days after Modi and Trudeau met in Italy during the G7 summit, with the Canadian prime minister saying he saw “consensus” on some “big issues” with India and “opportunities” to engage with the new government.
“Meeted with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the G7 Summit,” Modi wrote on social media along with a photograph of him shaking hands with Trudeau.
This was the first meeting between the two leaders since diplomatic ties were strained following Nijjar’s killing. India has repeatedly criticised the status given to separatists and anti-India forces in Canada.
After his meeting with Modi, Trudeau told CBC News that a major takeaway from the summit was “the opportunity to have direct dialogue with a wide range of leaders on a wide range of issues.”
“Certainly we have very significant people-to-people ties with India, very significant economic ties. We agree on a lot of the big issues that we need to address as democracies in the international community. But I think now that he (Modi) has elected, there’s an opportunity for us to address that, including on some very serious issues around national security, keeping Canadians safe and the rule of law,” he said.
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