Pro Khalistani Leaders from the Sikh community staged a protest outside the State Department and the Indian Embassy to condemn the visit of Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.
Minister Jaishankar met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan during his trip to Washington.
A large group of Sikh activists, carrying Khalistan flags, marched toward the State Department building, chanting slogans in support of Khalistan. They condemned the recent meeting between Secretary Blinken and Jaishankar and demanded sanctions against the Modi regime and Indian intelligence agents over the alleged murder plot targeting Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a U.S. citizen, and the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada.
Following their protest at the State Department, the same group of protesters gathered outside the Indian Embassy in Washington, D.C., where they slashed Indian Flag with swords near the statue of Mahatma Gandhi. Holding Khalistan flags and chanting slogans such as "Kill Modi Politics," the protesters called for the establishment of an independent Sikh state, "Khalistan."
"There is evidence that Jaishankar is part of the conspiracy orchestrated by the Modi government to target Sikh activists living in Western countries," Dr. Bakhshish Singh Sandhu, who led the.protest told journalists.
Other Sikh activists questioned the timing of Jaishankar's visit to Washington, D.C., given the upcoming formation of a new U.S. government.
"Jaishankar is the global ambassador of India’s violent transnational repression and is responsible for operating India’s spy networks through its embassies across North America," Gurpatwant Singh Pannun of Sikhs For Justice said in a statement.
He further added, "Jaishankar is justifying the assassination of Shaheed Nijjar and the murder-for-hire plot in New York by Modi’s India on international forums. He claims that anyone challenging India’s territorial integrity is a terrorist, and that India, just like the U.S. killed Osama bin Laden, has the right to eliminate such individuals operating from the U.S. or any other country."
The protests at the State Department and the Indian Embassy saw a heavy presence of D.C. police.
