Canada: PM Modi, EAM Jaishankar to receive ‘Z category’ security after assassination posters emerge in Surrey

Indian Union Ministry of Home Affairs has upgraded the security of the External Affairs Minister of India, Subramaniam Jaishankar after a Khalistani group in Canada put up posters labelling him and the other two ministers as enemies of Canada. As per reports, some say that posters also call for his assassination.

The posters feature Jaishankar along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Indian High Commissioner to Canada, Sanjay Kumar Varma

Heightened Security

On October 12, 2023, these posters were put up by the banned radical organisation, Sikhs For Justice. The External Affairs Minister will now be guarded by the VIP security wing of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) which guards around 176 people in the country. His protection detail will consist of 22 security personnel and four to six personnel from the National Security Guard (NSG) and police personnel.

The report further cites a Delhi Police Officer, who speaking on the condition of anonymity said that police also received inputs of threats to Jaishankar by separatist groups.

As per a report, the posters also announce that a referendum will be carried out over the carving of the Sikh state of “Khalistan” out of India will be held outside Guru Nanak Sikh Gurudwara Surrey, British Columbia. This Gurudwara is the same one on which Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar was killed on June 18, 2023.

HAMAS-Like Attacks

This comes as the Khalistani leader and supremo Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in a video threatened India with a HAMAS-like attack. Pannun is a designated terrorist under India’s UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act) and can be heard saying: “People under illegal occupation from Punjab to Palestine will react and violence begets violence.”

He further addressed PM Modi and said: Modi, learn from the Israel-Palestine Conflict. If India is going to keep occupying Punjab, there will be a reaction and Modi and India, you will be responsible. Sikhs For Justice (SJF) believes in a ballot, one vote, Liberation of Punjab is on the cards.

Reaction

The Canadian High Commissioner to India, Camron Mackey, was summoned to South Block on Wednesday, and a protest was conveyed. The protest note asked the Justin Trudeau government to immediately pull down the posters in Surrey targeting PM Modi, EAM Jaishankar and the Indian diplomat in Canada and then take strong action against those who are guilty. Simultaneously, a protest note was sent to the Global Affairs Canada in Ottawa at the same time, a second person said.

Call for Referendum

Quoting people in the know, the Indian media publication reports that the referendum will be held in Vancouver on October 29, 2023, Before that, on October 21, 2023, a protest is slated to be launched from Surrey to the Indian consulate in Vancouver. Reportedly, similar posters previously called for the assassination of the Indian High Commission to Canada, Sanjay Verma and counsel generals Manish and Apoorva Shrivastava.