Issue of Khalistani, anti-India elements in NZ raised during PM Modi-Luxon meeting

New Delhi: India on Monday raised the issue of radical and extremist Khalistani groups operating on New Zealand soil, posing a threat to diplomats and the larger Indian community in the country.

The issue came up during the discussions held between both sides at the Hyderabad House in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his New Zealand counterpart Christopher Luxon who is currently on a five-day visit to the country.

“Certainly, this was an issue that came up. We do alert our friends to the activities of anti-India elements in their countries and their abuse of freedom of speech and other democratic freedoms to glorify terrorism and to threaten attacks against our diplomats or our parliament or our events in India. So these were also conveyed. The government of New Zealand has been receptive and has taken our concerns on board in the past as well. This was also the reaction that we got today,” Jaideep Mazumdar, Secretary (East) at the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), told media after the bilateral talks.

The India-New Zealand Joint Statement released later mentioned both Prime Ministers exchanging views on regional and global developments of mutual interest while agreeing to strengthen multilateral cooperation.

“Both leaders agreed on the significance of ensuring the safety and security of the Indian community, including students, in New Zealand, and of New Zealanders in India and visitors to India,” it mentioned.

The two leaders also reiterated their “absolute condemnation” of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, and the use of terrorist proxies in cross-border terrorism.

“Both stressed the urgent need for all countries to take immediate, sustained, measurable, and concrete action against UN-proscribed terrorist organisations and individuals. They called for disrupting of terrorism financing networks and safe havens, dismantling of terror infrastructure, including online, and bringing perpetrators of terrorism to justice swiftly. The two leaders agreed to cooperate in combating terrorism and violent extremism through bilateral and multilateral mechanisms,” read the statement.

The banned US-based radical Khalistani outfit Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) has been trying to promote its secessionist agenda in several countries, including Australia and New Zealand, by holding a so-called “referendum” that calls for an independent Sikh homeland. Last year, such events were organised by SFJ in and around Auckland, New Zealand’s biggest city.

The Pakistani intelligence agency ISI has been backing the malicious campaign to create divide on communal lines.

Indian security agencies have repeatedly warned the local law enforcement authorities on concerns about the safety and security of Indian nationals in countries where banned radical outfits linked to Pakistan and Khalistani elements have been engaging in fierce targeted propaganda.

IANS