Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who has been in the news for his pro-Khalistan activities, has once again come into focus after he put out a poster that is suggestive of violent attacks against Indian High Commissioner to Canada Sanjay Kumar Verma.
The poster in question began circulating in North American social media after the India-Canada Chamber of Commerce announced that Mr. Verma would participate in a networking event to be organised in Edmonton on March 11.
“We have always tried to carry all sections of the Indo-Canadian community in our work and neither the High Commissioner nor we have cancelled the programme despite the posters. We believe that while living outside, we are all known because of our Indian roots and there is no difference among us. So we hope this problem can be overcome before the event,” said Ravi Prakash Singh, Chair, Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (Alberta).
Soon after the organisers sent out the poster of the event, another poster bearing the face of murdered pro-Khalistan figure Hardeep Singh Nijjar began to spread online. It also had Mr. Verma’s image painted in the middle of a target, saying, “Challenge, target, question.”
Pannun has in the past courted controversy by calling on international passengers to avoid Air India hinting that the airline could suffer sabotage. His aggressive poster campaign, which in the past linked Indian diplomats based in the U.K., Canada, the U.S. and Australia with the Nijjar assassination, had been cited by India to shut down its consular services, including e-visas for Canadians. The e-visa services were restarted in November 2023.
He has also been a known supporter of the online campaign for Khalistan referendum.
One of the organisers of the March 11 event, however, called for reconciliation among all communities from India.
Nijjar murder fallout
Nijjar was shot and killed by unknown assassins in Surrey, British Columbia on June 18, 2023. The incident subsequently became a political hot potato when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in a startling statement in the House of Commons last September, accused Indian secret service agents of being responsible for the murder.
The India-Canada relations, which have been on a downward spiral ever since, recovered somewhat in January after outgoing Canadian National Security Adviser Jody Thomas said that India had begun cooperating with Canada in its investigation to find the killers of Nijjar.
Meanwhile, another case involving Pannun hit the headlines after the American authorities accused an overseas Indian of trying to kill the pro-Khalistan lawyer, who is based in New York and Canada. Acting on American request, Czech authorities had arrested Nikhil Gupta who was accused of trying to kill Pannun.
