Hardeep Nijjar killing: India, Canada trade diplomatic blows. 10 developments

India rejected as "absurd" and "motivated" Canadian PM Justin Trudeau's allegations of a "potential" involvement of Indian agents in killing of Hardeep Nijjar.

The India-Canada relations hit a new low on Monday as both countries expelled each other's diplomats after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made big allegations linking India to the killing of Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who died in June outside a temple in British Columbia.

Top 10 things that happened today between India and Canada:

1. On Monday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there are “credible allegations of a potential link” between agents of the Indian government and the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Addressing the media, Trudeau said, “Canada has declared its deep concerns to the top intelligence and security officials of the Indian government…In no uncertain terms, any involvement of a foreign government in the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil is an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty.”
2. Immediately after Trudeau's allegations, Canadian foreign minister Melanie Joly said she expelled the head of India’s intelligence agency in Canada from the country. According to reports, the diplomat is the head of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) in Canada - identified as Pavan Kumar Rai.
3. In a tit-for-tat move, India also expelled a ‘senior Canadian diplomat’ who was reportedly the head of Canadian intelligence in India, reportedly identified as Olivier Sylvestere.
4. India also hit back at Canada over its accusation, calling it “absurd and motivated”, and urged the country instead to take legal action against anti-Indian elements operating from its soil. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in a statement said, “We have seen and rejected the statement of the Canadian Prime Minister in their Parliament, as also the statement by their Foreign Minister. Allegations of the government of India's involvement in any act of violence in Canada are absurd and motivated. Similar allegations were made by the Canadian Prime Minister to our Prime Minister, and were completely rejected.”
5. Rejecting Trudeau's statement, the MEA added, “The space given in Canada to a range of illegal activities including murders, human trafficking, and organised crime is not new.”
6. As the diplomatic row between the two countries escalated, Trudeau in another statement from outside the Canadian Parliament said that his country is “not trying to provoke India but Ottawa wanted New Delhi to address the issue properly". “India and the government of India need to take this matter with the utmost seriousness…We are doing that. We are not looking to provoke or escalate. We are simply laying out the facts as we understand them and we want to work with the government of India to lay everything clear and to ensure there are proper processes," Trudeau said.
7. The United States, United Kingdom, and Australia have expressed concerns over the allegations made by Canada against India.
8. British foreign secretary James Cleverly said his government backs a Canadian investigation to determine whether India was involved in the killing of a Sikh leader, in a case that sent ties between Ottawa and New Delhi nosediving. Cleverly, who is in New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly, told AFP he had met with Trudeau on Monday and discussed the case.
9. Meanwhile, reports suggest that Canada worked “very closely” with the United States on intelligence that Indian agents had been potentially involved in the murder of the Khalistani extremist, reported Reuters.
10. The Canadian government updated its travel advisory asking its citizens to avoid all travel to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir “due to the unpredictable security situation”.

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau walks past India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi (AP)