Pro-Khalistani elements have announced a ‘Kill India’ rally outside India High Commission in London on 8th July. A poster of the event has been circulating on social media platforms including Twitter. The announcement came days after the arson attack on San Francisco Indian Consulate. Several accounts that were created in June 2023 have been seen promoting the said poster.
The poster read, “Khalistan ‘KILL India’ Rallies 8 July to Challenge #Indian Hand in Assassination of Nijjar.” They also tagged several pro-Khalistani high-profile accounts and journalists.
A threat poster with pictures of top Indian Diplomats in UK released by Khalistani extremists. Another attack at @HCI_London planned by Khalistani extremists group on 8th July.
— INSIGHT UK (@INSIGHTUK2) July 5, 2023
Under the Vienna Convention to which UK is a party to, the receiving state is under a special duty to… pic.twitter.com/DvaGyPjdde
The poster contained photographs of the Indian high commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami and Dr Shashank Vikram, consul-general of India, Birmingham. It falsely labelled them as “the faces of Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s killers in Vancouver”. The poster referred to Vikram as CG of the “Embassy of India in London” which is false. The poster appeared to be created by Sikhs For Justice.
Reacting to the threats, Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom James Cleverly said, “Any direct attacks on the Indian High Commission in London are completely unacceptable. We have made clear to
Vikram Doraiswami and the Government of India that the safety of staff at the High Commission is paramount.”
Any direct attacks on the Indian High Commission in London are completely unacceptable.
— James Cleverly🇬🇧 (@JamesCleverly) July 6, 2023
We have made clear to @VDoraiswami and the Government of India that the safety of staff at the High Commission is paramount.
Speaking to Times of India Kuldeep Shekhawat, president of the Overseas Friends of BJP UK said, “What will Pannun gain with these kinds of gimmicks? Postering the Indian high commissioner and our CG in Birmingham clearly shows the frustration. There is no Khalistani support from the Indian diaspora and it is a clear story of a misinformation campaign that a handful of misguided Sikhs are trying to do. A true Sikh is for the nation India and will always remain (so).”
Similar posters carrying photographs of Indian diplomats have surfaced in the US, Australia and Canada promoting Khalistani rallies scheduled for the 8th of July outside Indian missions in respective countries. On July 5, India summoned Canadian high commissioner Cameron Mackay to register a protest over the controversial poster.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that India will take up the issue of Khalistanis threatening Indian diplomats in posters circulated in Canada with the Trudeau government, and also talk to other partner countries where such issues keep emerging.
Speaking to the media, he added that India has urged its partner countries like Canada, the United States, the UK, and Australia not to give space to the Khalistanis. “This will affect our relations. We will raise this poster issue with the government of these countries,” he said. The statement came after Khalistani posters carrying threats to Indian diplomats were circulated in Canada.
Earlier, Khalistani posters targeting Indian High Commissioner and Counsul-General appeared in Australia. Both Indian diplomats have been named as “killers” of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. A march on the Indian Embassy has been announced in the poster which is scheduled for 8th July in Melbourne. Retired senior correspondent Terry Milewski shared the poster on Twitter and wrote, “Khalistani posters targeting Indian diplomats spread to Australia after Canada”.
On 2nd July, Khalistanis carried out an arson attack on the Indian consulate in San Francisco city of United States. As per reports, the extremists set the building on fire between 1:30 am and 2:30 am on Sunday. However, the damage was limited and the staffers escaped unharmed. The fire was quickly doused by the San Francisco fire department. The local, State and federal authorities were also notified about the incident. A video of the incident has now gone viral on social media.
Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s assassination
On 18th July, designated Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot dead by two unidentified assailants in a Gurdwara in the British Columbia province of Canada. Khalistani elements have accused the Indian security agencies of the assassination. Following the deaths of Avtar Singh Khanda who was Amritpal Singh’s aide, Khalistan Commando Force chief Paramjit Singh Panjwar and then Nijjar, several pro-Khalistani elements have gone underground including SFJ Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. Recent rumours suggested SFJ’s Pannu also died in a road accident in the US. However, the suspense of his being alive or dead is yet to be cleared.
