/dhanam-english/media/media_files/0AocricGPfXcPIhVeoiS.png)
A sign outside a Sikh Gurdwara in a Canadian city last year (file pic)
Amid the Indian government's decision to withdraw its High Commissioner and other “targeted diplomats and officials” from Canada on Monday, tensions between India and Canada have escalated.
The Ministry of External Affairs released a statement saying “...baseless targeting of the Indian High Commissioner and other diplomats and officials in Canada was completely unacceptable.”
"It was underlined that in an atmosphere of extremism and violence, the Trudeau Government's actions endangered their safety," the ministry's statement read.
Apart from this, India expelled six Canadian diplomats and asked them to leave the country by October 19.
Earlier in the day, India summoned Canada's Charge d'Affaires after the Ministry of External Affairs, stating they “received a diplomatic communication from Canada” over the 2023 killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
We've clear evidence: Canada police
Meanwhile, in a hurriedly called press conference on Monday, Canadian police said that investigations have revealed that Indian diplomats and consular officials based in Canada leveraged their official positions to engage in clandestine activities, such as collecting information for the Government of India, either directly or through their proxies and others individuals who acted voluntarily or through coercion.
The Canadian Police said, “Over the past few years, and more recently, law enforcement agencies in Canada, including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police have successfully investigated and charged a significant number of individuals for their direct involvement in homicides, extortions and other criminal acts of violence.”
"Evidence also shows that a wide variety of entities in Canada and abroad have been used by agents of the Government of India to collect information. Some of these individuals and businesses were coerced and threatened into working for the Government of India. The information collected for the Government of India is then used to target members of the South Asian community," it added.
"This evidence was presented directly to Government of India officials, urging their cooperation in stemming the violence and requesting our law enforcement agencies work together to address these issues," it said.
The build-up to the expulsions
1) India withdrew High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma and some other diplomats from Canada. India also expelled six Canadian diplomats, asking them to leave the country by October 19.
2) The 6 Canadian diplomats who have been expelled are Stewart Ross Wheeler (Acting High Commissioner), Patrick Hebert (Deputy High Commissioner), Marie Catherine Joly (First Secretary) and lan Ross David Trites (First Secretary), Adam James Chuipka (First Secretary), and Paula Orjuela (First Secretary)
3) MEA summoned Canadian Charge d’Affaires Stewart Wheeler who claimed his government "provided credible, irrefutable evidence of ties between agents of the government of India and the murder of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil”.
4) Soon after this, the Canadian Police released a statement and claimed it had evidence “tying agents of the government of India to homicides and violent acts”.
5) The Canadian Police alleged the 6 Indian diplomats and consular officials based in Canada leveraged their official positions to engage in clandestine activities, which India quashed.
6) In the statement, the Canadian Police said that they have a dozen credible death threats to members of the pro-Khalistan movement in Canada.
7) Canada also has expelled six Indian diplomats after police collected evidence they were part of an Indian government "campaign of violence", reported Reuters.
8) The diplomatic ties between India and Canada have been strained for more than a year, after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in September 2023 told his country’s parliament that intelligence agencies were actively pursuing “credible allegations” tying agents of the Indian government to Nijjar’s killing.
9) In September 2023, the Canadian government set up an independent commission to probe alleged meddling by foreign countries, including China and India, in Canada’s general elections in 2019 and 2021.
10) In December 2020 too, Trudeau had backed the farmers’ protest against the Centre’s farm laws, which New Delhi referred as “unwarranted” and “ill-informed”.
(By arrangement with livemint.com)
