Ashish Ranjan
On Wednesday, more than 200 demonstrators carrying Khalistan flags descended upon the Indian Consulate in San Francisco for a planned demonstration amid a heightened San Francisco Police Department security presence. (SFDP).
In contrast to the violent disorder that occurred on Sunday when the Consulate was attacked, the protesters were severely barricaded across the road with uniformed SFPD officers patrolling the area.Protesters included males of all ages wearing turbans and chanting pro-Khalistan slogans. They arrived from various regions of the Bay Area.
The organisers used microphones to deliver anti-India speeches in both English and Punjabi and to attack the Punjab Police for alleged violations of human rights.When ANI attempted to speak with one of the protestors, he alleged Indian media bias for labelling them extremists supported by Pakistan’s ISI spy agency.
A pro-Khalistan youth told ANI that there have been flyers circulating on social media and that youth are at the vanguard of protests like these.The Indian Consulate in San Francisco has collaborated with law enforcement agencies to secure its facilities and diplomats.
“Thank you for the assurances, @SFPDChief. Ambassador Nagendra Prasad, Consul General of India in San Francisco, met with Chief Scott on Wednesday to discuss the attack on the Chancery building on March 19 and to request a heightened level of security for the Consulate’s premises and personnel.
John Kirby, spokesman for the National Security Council of the White House, stated that vandalism at the Indian Consulate in San Francisco is “absolutely unacceptable” and condemned by the United States.
“We unequivocally condemn this act of vandalism; it is inexcusable.” The diplomatic security service of the State Department is collaborating with local authorities to thoroughly investigate. “The State Department will work to repair the damage to the infrastructure,” said Kirby.
“The United States condemns the attack against the Indian Consulate and any attack against diplomatic facilities in the United States,” a spokesperson for the US State Department told ANI. We pledge to protect the security of these facilities and the diplomats who work there.”
Khalistan supporters have begun to spread disorder across the globe.
Khalistan supporters purportedly attacked the Indian Consulate in San Francisco followingvandalism in London. (SFO). On social media, clips of supporters breaking down doors and storming the office surfaced.Online images depict a massive crowd wielding Khalistan flags mounted on wooden poles and using them to smash the consulate’s glass doors and windows. As they breached improvised security barriers erected by the city police, they chanted pro-Khalistan slogans and installed two Khalistani flags within the premises.
Monday, in a meeting with the US Charge d’Affairs in New Delhi, India expressed its outrage at the vandalism of the Consulate General of India in San Francisco.
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“The United States Government was reminded of its fundamental obligation to safeguard diplomatic representation. It was instructed to take the necessary steps to prevent a recurrence of such incidents. The Embassy in Washington, D.C. also conveyed similar concerns to the US Department of State, according to a Ministry of Foreign Affairs press release.
