After Canada removed a prominent Indian diplomat over the alleged complicity of the Indian government in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the leader of the Khalistan separatist movement and a Canadian citizen, New Delhi retaliated.
The Indian Foreign Ministry called the Canadian High Commissioner on Tuesday morning and informed him of New Delhi’s decision to expel a senior Canadian diplomat based in India. The Ministry of External Affairs announced in a statement that he has been requested to leave the country within the next five days.
The decision reflected India’s “growing concern at the interference of Canadian diplomats in our internal matters and their involvement in anti-India activities,” according to the statement.
The decision reflected India’s “growing concern at the interference of Canadian diplomats in our internal matters and their involvement in anti-India activities,” according to the statement.
The decision comes in response to Canada’s deportation of Pavan Kumar Rai, the chief of India’s external intelligence agency’s Research and Analysis Wing, amid allegations linking the Indian government to the assassination of a Khalistan activist in June.
In response to the allegations, India firmly denied the Canadian government’s claims, calling them “absurd.”
“Such unsubstantiated allegations seek to shift the focus from Khalistani terrorists and extremists, who have been provided shelter in Canada and continue to threaten India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The inaction of the Canadian Government on this matter has been a long-standing and continuing concern,” the Ministry of External Affairs stated.
It went on to say that “the space given in Canada” to acts of violence including as murder, human trafficking, and organised crime “is not new,” and that New Delhi rejects any attempts to link it to these activities.
On Monday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued an urgent speech to Parliament, alerting legislators that security agencies are investigating “credible allegations of a potential link between agents of the Government of India” and Nijjar’s death on Canadian territory. Later, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly announced that the Indian official will be expelled.
The Indian and Canadian leaders discussed Ottawa’s stance on Khalistan agitation, which seeks an independent Sikh homeland in the Punjab region, earlier this year at the G20 summit in New Delhi.
