On 4th July (local time), 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”.
Now, after targeting Indian diplomats in Canada, the menacing Khalistani posters have spread to Australia. Again, both High Commissioner and Consul-General are pictured and named as "Killers" of "Shaheed" Nijjar. A march on the Indian embassy in Melbourne is set for July 8th. pic.twitter.com/wW8HvSTXw5
— Terry Milewski (@CBCTerry) July 4, 2023
As per the Australia Today report, the Indian Consulate in Melbourne has had two briefings with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and Australian Federal Police officials about this matter. An unnamed Indian official was quoted by Australian Today saying, “Indian Authorities are taking this very seriously and are in touch with relevant Australian officials.”
Speaking to the Australian Today, a DFAT spokesperson said, “The Australian Government takes seriously its obligations under the Vienna Convention to ensure the security of foreign missions and their staff in Australia.” They added, “Australia does not tolerate hate speech, violence, or threats of violence. Any threat to accredited officials residing in Australia will be investigated.”
Similar posters threatening Indian diplomats surface in Canada
Earlier, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada, Mélanie Joly, took cognisance of the Khalistanis threatening Indian diplomats in posters circulated in Canada and said that it is unacceptable. She said that the country takes its obligations under the Vienna Conventions regarding the safety of diplomats very seriously.
The posters that reportedly emerged across Canada warned that a Khalistan freedom rally, held in the name of slain Khalistani terrorist Harjit Singh Nijjar would be organized on 8th July. The poster read that the rally would be carried out from the Great Punjab Business Centre in Maltan to the Indian Embassy in Toronto. The threatening poster also carried pictures of India’s high commissioner to Ottawa, Sanjay Kumar Verma, and the consulate general in Toronto, Apoorva Srivastava, with the caption that read, “Faces of Shaheed Nijjar’s killers in Toronto.”
While the poster for a protest rally in Toronto on 8th July named Indian High Commissioner Saurav Kumar Sharma and Counsellor Apurva Srivastava, posters of a simultaneous rally in Vancouver named the High Commissioner and Counsel General of Vancouver Manish.
As reported earlier, the Khalistanis blame India for the murder of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar who was shot dead in Surrey, Canada, on 18th June. He was shot dead by two unidentified assailants within the Gurdwara premises. 46-year-old Nijjar hailed from the village Bhar Singhpura of Jalandhar.
His name was added to the list of designated terrorists recently by the Indian Government. In 2022, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) declared a Rs 10 lakh reward on Nijjar after his name appeared in a conspiracy to kill a Hindu priest in Jalandhar, Punjab.
