India has strongly condemned the vandalisation of the Indian Embassy in Croatia and the reported removal of the national flag by Khalistani activists. New Delhi has sought action to hold the perpetrators accountable for their “illegal actions”.
According to a Hindustan Times report, a video shared online by Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun showed a Khalistani activist removing the Indian flag from the Indian Embassy in Zagreb and replacing it with a yellow Khalistan flag. The incident reportedly took place on 22 January.
The incident marked the latest in a series of actions by Khalistani activists targeting Indian missions overseas, with most such cases reported from Canada, the UK and the US. Croatia, a member of the European Union, saw the embassy in Zagreb targeted just days ahead of the India–EU Summit in New Delhi on 27 January.
European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are set to be the chief guests at Republic Day celebrations.
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Accordingly, we have taken up the matter strongly with Croatian authorities, both in New Delhi and in Zagreb, and asked them to hold the perpetrators accountable for their reprehensible and illegal actions.”
The ministry further said that such actions “also speak of the character and motives of those behind them”, adding that law enforcement authorities across the world must take note of these.
Khalistani activists also defaced the walls of the Indian Embassy with slogans such as “Khalistan Zindabad”. In a video message from Punjab, Pannun claimed that the days of Indian embassies flying the national tricolour were “numbered”, asserting that the Indian flag would be replaced by the Khalistan flag if Punjab were to become independent, the HT the report further said.
During his visit to Zagreb last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had thanked Croatia for supporting India’s fight against terrorism, as the two countries opened a new chapter in their bilateral relationship during his historic visit — the first-ever by an Indian prime minister.
