In a baffling move that threatens to upend delicate diplomatic efforts between India and Canada, a self-styled ‘Embassy of Khalistan’ has been established on the premises of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia. The move has sent shockwaves through both countries, reigniting long-standing tensions over Khalistani extremism and foreign interference.
The so-called embassy, marked by a sign reading ‘Republic of Khalistan’, is the latest creation of the banned Khalistani outfit Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) in collaboration with the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara Temple, a religious and community center that has long been under scrutiny for its links to Khalistani figures.
The building in question, which now bears the symbolic signage of an unrecognized separatist entity, was reportedly constructed using funds from the Government of British Columbia, raising urgent questions over the use of Canadian public money in potentially supporting extremist-linked infrastructure.
According to locals cited by CNN-News18, the provincial government recently allocated $150,000 toward the installation of an elevator in the same building now housing the so-called embassy. The funding has come under intense scrutiny amid revelations that the space has been repurposed by SFJ, a group banned in India for its separatist activities.
Nijjar’s Connection
The site of the self-styled embassy is especially symbolic and controversial. It is located within the premises of the very gurdwara once led by Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a designated terrorist under Indian law, who was shot dead in June 2023 in the gurdwara’s parking lot. Nijjar’s killing marked the beginning of a deep diplomatic freeze between India and Canada, exacerbated by former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s unproven allegations suggesting Indian government involvement in the murder. New Delhi has consistently and categorically denied any role.
The symbolic embassy’s unveiling comes as SFJ prepares for another so-called ‘Khalistan Referendum’, reigniting fears of rising separatist rhetoric in Canada and fueling Indian concerns about the North American nation becoming a safe haven for anti-India extremists.
CSIS Confirmation
The development is particularly alarming in light of Canada’s own intelligence assessments. In a rare and candid admission in June 2025, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) explicitly acknowledged for the first time that Khalistani extremists are using Canadian soil as a base for promotion, fundraising, and planning of violence, primarily targeting India.
‘Khalistani extremists continue to use Canada as a base for the promotion, fundraising or planning of violence primarily in India’, the CSIS annual report stated, also identifying such activities as Politically Motivated Violent Extremism (PMVE)- a term Canadian authorities have now formally applied to Khalistan-linked actors.
The report further warned that while no attacks tied to Canada-based Khalistani extremists (CBKEs) occurred in 2024, these individuals continue to facilitate, fund, and plan potential acts of violence abroad. This public acknowledgment echoes India’s long-standing complaints, dating back to the 1985 Air India bombing, which killed 329 people and remains Canada’s worst act of aviation terror.
The revelations that public funds were used to enhance the infrastructure now hosting this controversial ’embassy’ have provoked outrage within political and intelligence circles. Critics are questioning whether Canadian taxpayers have inadvertently financed a site that promotes extremism despite clear warnings from CSIS about the threat.
For now, the so-called embassy in Surrey may not hold legal weight, but its implications- symbolic, political, and international are both heavy and far-reaching.
