Ottawa: The ongoing diplomatic row between India and Canada over the death of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar witnessed a major escalation on Monday as the Government of India expelled six Canadian diplomats, hours after recalling the Indian high commissioner and some other officials from Canada. This came in response to Canada's attempt to link Indian High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma and other diplomats to a probe into Nijjar's killing.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Monday said it received a diplomatic communication suggesting that Indian High Commissioner to Canada Sanjay Kumar Verma and other diplomats are "persons of interest" in an investigation related to Nijjar's death, which it rejected as "preposterous implications". The MEA also summoned the Canadian Charge d'Affaires to convey India's stand that the targeting of the Indian officials was "completely unacceptable".
Reacting to the developments, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused India of engaging in activities that posed a significant threat to public safety and ordered the expulsion of six Indian diplomats from Canada, marking a further escalation of the dispute. He claimed India had refused to cooperate with the investigation, despite Canada not presenting any evidence of India's involvement in Nijjar's killing.
Trudeau accuses India of "coercive behaviour, threats and violence'
In a public statement on Monday, Trudeau said, "As the Commissioner of the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police), Mike Duheme, stated earlier today, the RCMP has clear and compelling evidence that agents of the Government of India have engaged in, and continue to engage in, activities that pose a significant threat to public safety."
"This includes clandestine information gathering techniques, coercive behaviour targeting South Asian Canadians, and involvement in over a dozen threatening and violent acts, including murder. This is unacceptable," he remarked, further claiming that all attempts to work with the Indian government had been rejected.
“We will never tolerate the involvement of a foreign government in threatening and killing Canadian citizens on Canadian soil – a deeply unacceptable violation of Canada’s sovereignty and of international law... Canada will always defend the rule of law and the fundamental principles on which free and democratic societies are based," he added.
“I’ve spoken directly with Prime Minister Modi. We have engaged with intelligence counterparts, and unfortunately, every step of the way, both after I made the statement in the House of Commons last September and till now, the response of the Indian government has been to deny, to obfuscate, to attack me personally and the integrity of the government of Canada and its officials and its police agencies. We have simply said we’re going to allow our agencies to do the work, particularly to move from intelligence collection from agencies to police investigations that result in arrests, trials and consequences within a rigorous robust and independent judicial system. That has been our approach every step of the way,” Trudeau claimed.
Trudeau also highlighted that India and Canada have a long and storied history rooted in strong people-to-people ties and business investments, but said "we cannot abide by what we are seeing right now. Canada fully respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India, and we expect India to do the same for us."
Canada expels six Indian diplomats
In a tit-for-tat move, Canada expelled six Indian diplomats "in relation to a targeted campaign against Canadian citizens by agents linked to the Government of India", according to Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly, who said the decision was made after the RCMP gathered "ample, clear and concrete evidence" that identified the six individuals as 'persons of interest' in the Nijjar case.
Referring to the expulsion of the diplomats, Trudeau said, "Canadian officials took an extraordinary step. They met with Indian officials to share RCMP evidence, which concluded six agents of the Government of India are persons of interest in criminal activities. And despite repeated requests to the Government of India, they have decided not to co-operate."
"They must leave Canada. They will no longer be able to act as diplomats in Canada, nor to re-enter Canada, for whatever reason. Let me be clear: the evidence brought to light by the RCMP cannot be ignored," he added. In May 2024, the RCMP’s Integrated Homicide Investigative Team and the Federal Policing Programme Pacific Region announced the arrests of four individuals for their alleged involvement in the killing of Nijjar.
MEA attacks Trudeau for 'anti-India hostility'
It should be mentioned here that the ties between India and Canada soured after Trudeau alleged in the Canadian Parliament last year that he has "credible allegations" of India's hand in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. India has denied all the allegations, calling them "absurd" and "motivated" and has accused Canada of giving space to extremist and anti-India elements in their country.
In a hard-hitting statement on Monday, India said Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's hostility towards India has long been in evidence and his government has consciously provided space to violent extremists and terrorists "to harass, threaten and intimidate Indian diplomats and community leaders in Canada".
"His Cabinet has included individuals who have openly associated with an extremist and separatist agenda regarding India. His naked interference in Indian internal politics in December 2020 showed how far he was willing to go in this regard. That his Government was dependent on a political party, whose leader openly espouses a separatist ideology vis-à-vis India, only aggravated matters," said the External Affairs Ministry.
"The Government of India has taken cognizance of the activities of the Canadian High Commission in India that serve the political agenda of the current regime. This led to the implementation of the principle of reciprocity in regard to diplomatic representation. India now reserves the right to take further steps in response to these latest efforts of the Canadian Government to concoct allegations against Indian diplomats," it added.
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