India reminds world of Kanishka bombing as Canada ‘honours’ terrorist

New Delhi, June 19: Even as the Canadian Parliament ‘honoured’ a Khalistani terrorist, the Indian Consulate in Vancouver reminded the world of the bombing of Air India flight 182 (Kanishka) in which 329 people, including 86 children, were killed. The ‘India in Vancouver’, the official Twitter account of the Consulate General of India in Vancouver in a post on Wednesday said, “India stands at the forefront of countering the menace of terrorism and works closely with all nations to tackle this global threat.” “23 June 2024 marks the 39th Anniversary of the cowardly terrorist bombing of Air India flight 182 (Kanishka), in which 329 innocent victims, including 86 children, lost their lives in one of the most heinous terror-related air disasters in the history of civil aviation,” mentioned the post. The consulate will also hold a Memorial Service at 1830 hrs on June 23 at the Air India Memorial at Stanley Park’s Ceperley Playground area. “@cgivancouver encourages members of the Indian Diaspora to join the event in a show of solidarity against terrorism,” said the consulate in the post. As India reminds the world of the horrors of terrorism, the Canadian Parliament marked the first anniversary of the death of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar by holding a moment of silence in the House of Commons on Tuesday. This comes days after Canadian PM Justin Trudeau said that there is an “alignment on several big issues” with India and he sees an “opportunity” to engage with the new Indian government…”. Trudeau had said this after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Italy during the G7 summit. Nijjar was gunned down in Canada’s Surrey, outside a parking lot on June 18 last year. India had put him on a list of ‘designated terrorists’ under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Canada has alleged that Indian officials were involved in the killing but has failed to provide evidence of this. This has strained ties between Ottawa and New Delhi. India has been maintaining that the main issue between the two countries is that of Canada giving space to pro-Khalistan elements operating from Canadian soil with impunity. –IANS