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Canada and India issued retaliatory diplomatic expulsions on Monday after Canadian police alleged that the Indian high commissioner and other officials were involved in “covert operations” surrounding the killing of a Sikh activist.
Canadian government officials said High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma and five other diplomats were notified of their “persona non grata” status starting Monday morning.
India later announced that it had expelled six Canadian diplomats, including Canada’s acting high commissioner, Stewart Wheeler, the most senior envoy remaining in Ottawa. New Delhi said it had asked them to leave by Saturday.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said last year that Canadian authorities had “credible suspicions” that the Indian government was involved in the murder of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was shot dead in a Vancouver suburb in June 2023. We are investigating the content of the allegations.
New Delhi said in a statement on Monday that it had received “diplomatic correspondence” from Ottawa suggesting Verma and other diplomats were “persons of interest” in the investigation, adding to already serious diplomatic relations between the two countries. The rift widened further.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police Commissioner Mike Duhame told reporters in Ottawa on Monday that “law enforcement has been working with members of the South Asian community, particularly professional members, as there have been more than a dozen credible and imminent threats to life.” We have issued a warning,” he said. Khalistan Movement”.
"There is a link between Indian government officials and murders and acts of violence,” Duhem said.
“An Indian diplomat or consular official based in Canada is an agent who has used his official position to act directly or voluntarily or under duress in covert activities such as intelligence gathering for the Government of India. and other individuals involved,” he added.
Duhem said RCMP are conducting “numerous investigations” and have charged “a significant number” of individuals with direct involvement in murder, extortion and other acts of criminal violence.
“There have been talks in the past to immunize these people so they can be interviewed, but that was not successful,” he added.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs said Monday night that it had summoned Canada’s chargé d’affaires to New Delhi over the “baseless targeting” of Verma and other diplomats, calling it “totally unacceptable.”
“This underscores that in an atmosphere of extremism and violence, the Trudeau government’s actions endanger the security of its people,” India’s Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement. “We do not believe in the Government of Canada’s commitment to ensuring safety.”
“Accordingly, the Government of India has decided to withdraw the High Commissioner and other targeted diplomats and officials.” New Delhi also said that “the Trudeau government’s support for extremism, violence and separatism against India” It also said it reserved the right to take “further action” against the company.
Sanjay Kumar Verma, High Commissioner of India to Canada
Prime Minister Trudeau sparked an uproar in India last year when he said Canada was investigating “credible suspicions” that Indian agents may have been behind Nijjar’s assassination. India and Pakistan.
The charges, along with a U.S. criminal case brought in the U.S. and Canada against a suspect in a murder plot against Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Panun Singh, have brought diaspora activists, whom India considers terrorists, into public view. It sheds light on the suspicions that the government is targeting. India has denied allegations of government involvement in Nijjar’s murder and the attempt on Panun’s life.
In May, Canadian authorities arrested and charged three Indian nationals on suspicion of shooting Nijjar. RCMP said at the time that they were investigating whether there were any links to the Indian government, adding that other people may have been involved in the killing.
“The Canadian government has done what India has long asked for, and Canada has provided credible and irrefutable evidence of a connection between Indian government officials and the killing of Canadian citizens on Canadian territory,” Wheeler, who is now in exile, said in a statement. said. a Canadian diplomat told reporters in New Delhi on Monday night.
“It’s time for India to do what it says it will do and investigate these allegations,” he added.
Earlier on Monday, India rejected the “ridiculous” and “ludicrous” allegations against its diplomats and attacked Prime Minister Trudeau personally. “His cabinet includes individuals who have been openly involved in extremist and separatist policies regarding India,” the Ministry of External Affairs said. Verma could not be reached for comment.
Diplomatic disputes over Nijjar’s murder have brought relations between India and Canada to a new low, with India expelling most Canadian diplomats and suspending visas last year.
Indian officials accused the Trudeau government on Monday of pandering to Sikh voters with what they called “vote bank politics” and views New Delhi considers extreme.
