Canada expels top Indian diplomat over Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s assassination
India has expelled Canadian top diplomat hours after Canadia govt expelled Indian diplomat.
Canada on Monday expelled a top Indian diplomat over Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s assassination!
Canada has accused India’s government of involvement in the killing of a Canadian Sikh leader near Vancouver last June and expelled New Delhi’s intelligence chief in Ottawa in retaliation.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told the Canadian parliament on Monday that his country’s security agencies had “credible” intelligence that the Indian government was behind the June 2023 murder of a pro-Khalistan leader in British Columbia, Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
“The involvement of any foreign government in the murder of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil is an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty,” Trudeau said.
“Over the past number of weeks, Canadian security agencies have been actively pursuing credible allegations of a potential link between agents of the Government of India and the killing of a Canadian citizen, Hardeep Singh Nijjar,” Trudeau told the House of Commons.
Trudeau told Parliament that he brought up the killing with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the G-20 last week.
He added that he told Modi that any Indian government involvement would be unacceptable and that he asked for cooperation in the investigation.
Trudeau’s charge was followed up by an official announcement from Foreign Minister Melanie Joly that Canada had expelled a senior Indian diplomat.
“Today we have expelled a senior Indian diplomat from Canada,” she said, without naming the official.
Jolie added the expelled Indian is the head of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), India’s foreign intelligence agency, in Canada.
My statement on allegations surrounding the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. pic.twitter.com/auIyj194A8
— Mélanie Joly (@melaniejoly) September 19, 2023
On the other hand, Canadian opposition New Democrat leader Jagmeet Singh, who is himself Sikh, called it outrageous and shocking. Singh said he grew up hearing stories that challenging India’s record on human rights might prevent you from getting a visa to travel there.
“But to hear the prime minister of Canada corroborate a potential link between a murder of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil by a foreign government is something I could never have imagined,” Singh said.
In a tit-for-tat move, hours after Canada’s decision, India expelled a senior Canadian diplomat over the death of the Sikh activist.
The expulsion comes in light of Canadian PM Justin Trudeau alleging an Indian hand in the killing of Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Najjar, who had been declared a wanted terrorist by India, was gunned down on June 18 in Surrey, a suburb of Vancouver that is home to a major Sikh community.
New Delhi accuses Ottawa of turning a blind eye to the activities of Sikh nationalists who seek a separate Sikh homeland in northern India.
It is pertinent to mention here that Canada has the largest population of Sikhs outside of Punjab, India.
