India and Canada have exchanged diplomatic remarks amid a dispute related to the probe into the killing of pro-Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Relations between the two countries have been strained since last year when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he had evidence linking Indian agents to the killing of the Khalistani terrorist in his country.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegation that Indian government agents were linked to the killing of Nijjar in Canada hit bilateral relations in September last year. (PTI)
Earlier this week, both India and Canada expelled six diplomats after Ottawa named the Indian ambassador a “person of interest” in the investigation. India called Canada's move “absurd” and part of the Trudeau government's policy agenda.
Diplomatic dispute between India and Canada
- The diplomatic spat between India and Canada began after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused the Indian government of being involved in the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a pro-Khalistani leader, on Canadian soil in September 2023.
2. Nijjar, designated a terrorist by India in 2020, was shot dead by masked gunmen outside a Sikh temple in British Columbia on June 18, 2023.
3. Trudeau and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) alleged that Indian diplomats targeted Sikh separatists in Canada and passed information to organized crime groups.
4. Justin Trudeau also claimed in a public statement that the Indian diplomats were collecting information about Canadians who disagree with the Narendra Modi government and passing it on to the highest levels within the Indian government and to criminal organizations such as the Lawrence Bishnoi gang passed on.
5. India dismissed the allegations as “absurd” and “absurd” and described them as part of Trudeau's political agenda. India has repeatedly criticized Trudeau's government for being lenient towards Khalistan supporters living in Canada.
6. India expelled six Canadian diplomats and Canada subsequently asked six Indian diplomats to leave the country.
7. Sandeep Singh Sidhu, a Canadian border police officer, was roped in by India in a terror investigation. Sidhu, a Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) employee, is accused of promoting terrorist activities in Punjab and is said to have links to Pakistan-based Khalistan terrorist Lakhbir Singh Rode and other ISI operatives.
8. Canada's Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said on Friday that remaining Indian diplomats in the country were “clearly alarmed” after Canada named the Indian High Commissioner in Ottawa as a person involved in the killing of a Sikh separatist leader.
9. Experts say the diplomatic dispute is unlikely to have a direct impact on visa policy, but delays in processing will continue until diplomatic staffing levels are restored.
10. The United States urged India to take seriously Canada's allegations of an assassination plot as tensions escalated between the two US partners.