The Indian consulate in San Francisco on Sunday was vandalised by Khalistani supporters and was set on fire, drawing criticism from the Indian External Affairs minister and US State Department.

"The US strongly condemns the reported vandalism and attempted arson against the Indian Consulate in San Francisco on Saturday. Vandalism or violence against diplomatic facilities or foreign diplomats in the US is a criminal offense," said US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.

The fire which was set by the Khalistani supporters was quickly extinguished by the San Francisco Fire Department and no major damage or injury to any person was reported. A video was also shared by San Francisco based Diya TV which shows the consulate on fire with the words ‘Violence begets violence’ superimposed on it.

This comes days after the death of a Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar who was shot in Surrey, Canada in June. Nijjar was the president of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurudwara in Surrey. He was shot by two unidentified gunmen in the parking lot of the gurudwara.

Punjab police had reportedly filed FIR against Nijjar for his alleged involvement in an explosion near Satya Narayan temple in Patiala. In 2015, another FIR was filed against him for plotting to kill religious leaders and in 2016 another FIR was filed for organising a training camp in Canada in December 2015. A Look Out Circular (LOC) and a Red Corner Notice (RCN) were also lodged against him in 2015 and 2016. Nijjar was also wanted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for raising Khalistan flag above the tricolour at the Indian Embassy in Vancouver.

It has also come to light that Indian envoys to both US and Canada are on the hit list of Khalistani extremists after their photos appeared on threat posters in both US and Canada. While Indian envoys to Canada were called ‘killers in Toronto’, the envoys to US were called ‘killers in San Francisco’.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar warned partner countries against giving space to Khalistanis by saying, “We have requested our partner countries like Canada, US, UK and Australia, where sometimes Khalistani activities happen, not to give space to the Khalistanis. Because they’re radical, extremist thinking is neither good for us nor them nor our relations".