Toronto — Canada and India have expelled each other’s senior diplomats in a growing diplomatic standoff sparked by… murder of a prominent Canadian Sikh activist last year. The tit-for-tat evictions come amid serious allegations from Canada that Indian government agents were involved in the murder and extortion of Canadian citizens on Canadian soil – allegations that India has firmly denied.
On Monday, Canada announced the expulsion of India’s top diplomat in the country, along with five other officials. In response, India responded by expelling six Canadian diplomats, including Canada’s High Commissioner in Delhi, Stewart Ross Wheeler, according to a statement from India’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
What are Canada and India fighting about?
India and Canada have been locked in an intense dispute since the June 2023 killing of prominent Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar by masked gunmen outside a Sikh temple in Vancouver.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told his country’s parliament Last year, officials had “credible” evidence of an Indian government link to the killing.
Nijjar, 45, was labeled a terrorist by the Indian government for his support of the Sikh homeland movement, which calls for an independent nation for the religious group that makes up less than 2% of India’s population.
His murder led to widespread protests by the Sikh community in Canada and India, many of whom also blamed the Indian government for the killing.
Canada is home to the most prominent Sikh diaspora outside the Indian state of Punjab. Nijjar, a member of the so-called pro-Khalistan movement, had organized an informal referendum in Canada to call for an independent Sikh nation within the borders of Punjab before he was killed.
The entire Khalistan state movement has been declared a terrorist organization by India, and Nijjar’s name appeared on the website Terrorist Watchlist of Indian Home Affairs prior to his murder.
What Canada said
The Canadian government said it took the extraordinary step of expelling the senior Indian diplomats this week to protect Canadian citizens and reassure those who feel their safety has been compromised.
“Keeping Canadians safe is the fundamental duty of the Canadian government. The decision to deport these individuals was made with great consideration and only after the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) had gathered sufficient, clear and concrete evidence from which six individuals could be identified as persons of interest. in the Nijjar case,” Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said in a statement Monday.
The RCMP said its investigation revealed that individuals associated with the Indian government were involved in serious criminal activity, including murder and extortion.
In addition to Nijjar’s killing, Canadian police said they responded to more than a dozen credible and imminent threats to life, leading them to warn members of the South Asian community, including those involved in the pro-Khalistan movement, about the murder of Nijjar. threats.
“We continue to ask the Indian government to support the ongoing investigation into the Nijjar case as it remains in the interest of both countries to get to the bottom of this matter,” Joly said.
What India has said
India has rejected Canada’s allegations from the start of the row over a year ago.
“The government of India strongly rejects these ridiculous allegations and attributes them to the political agenda of the Trudeau government, which focuses on vote bank politics,” India’s foreign ministry said in a statement. statement Monday.
The Indian government claimed Canada had “not shared a shred of evidence” since September 2023, when Trudeau first made allegations that Indian agents were involved in Nijjar’s killing.
The government in New Delhi has dismissed the Canadian investigation into the killing of the Sikh leader as “a deliberate strategy to smear India for political gain.”
This week, India deported Wheeler, along with his deputy four first secretaries.
“The Trudeau government has knowingly provided space for violent extremists and terrorists to harass, threaten and intimidate Indian diplomats and community leaders in Canada,” the Indian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
On Monday, the Indian ministry summoned Canada’s chargé d’affaires in the country and told him that the “unfounded attacks” on Indian diplomats in Canada were “completely unacceptable”.
Arshad Zargar of CBS News reported from New Delhi.
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