‘Terrorism Is Existential Threat To Peace’: Indian Mission On Anniversary Of 1985 AI Kanishka Bombing

Paying respect to the victims of Air India Flight 182 Kanishka on the 39th anniversary of the terror attack, the Indian mission in Canada on Sunday highlighted that terrorism has become an existential threat to international peace. The Montreal-New Delhi Air India ‘Kanishka’ Flight 182 exploded 45 minutes before it was due to land at London’s Heathrow Airport on June 23, 1985.

The blast killed all 329 people on board, most of them Canadians of Indian descent. In a statement remembering those who lost their lives in one of the deadliest terror-related air disasters in civil aviation history, the Indian mission warned that any “act of glorifying terrorism is deplorable and should be condemned by all peace-loving countries and people.”

“While thirty-nine years have passed since the cowardly act, terrorism has unfortunately assumed proportions of an existential threat to international peace and security today,” the High Commission said. “Any act of glorifying terrorism, including the bombing of AI-182 in 1985, is deplorable and should be condemned by all peace-loving countries and people. It is unfortunate that such actions are allowed to be routine on many occasions in Canada,” the statement read, in an apparent reference to the Canadian government’s inaction amid growing Khalistan activities in the country.

Amid increasing anti-India activity in the country, a Canadian journalist slammed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and highlighted the “moral failures” of his government. “I don’t think Trudeau really needs a reason to do the wrong thing. It is sort of a moral compulsion at this point. He was praised by Hamas, Churches are being burned down and he supported that. It is a confluence of his catastrophic moral failures,” Daniel Bordman told the news agency ANI.

Bordman also discussed concerns among some Sikhs about Khalistani influence in Canada. He noted growing Canadian apprehension about these issues, viewing Khalistani elements as exacerbating societal tensions. “Initially, a lot of people are afraid, now a lot of Sikhs are very brave and, you know, when you start criticizing Khalistan, you know, the first.” “People who will, like, offer you a platform sometimes or come to help you out. A lot of them are Sikhs themselves who see this as, like, their duty. But we have a lot of crazy Gurdwaras in our country that has been infiltrated by the Khalistanis,” he said while adding that “Canadians are starting to get tired of this.”