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India, Canada expel diplomats over murder accusations: What led to the diplomatic row
India expelled six Canadian diplomats after Canada labeled Indian diplomats as persons of interest in a killing investigation.
India expelled six Canadian diplomats on Monday and withdrew in envoy after Ottawa designated the Indian ambassador and other diplomats as "persons of interest" in its probe into the killing of pro-Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. India termed Canada's move as "preposterous" and part of the political agenda of the Justin Trudeau government.
In a tit-for-tat move, Canada too has asked six Indian diplomats to leave the country police had uncovered evidence of a worsening campaign against Canadian citizens.
“We will never tolerate the involvement of a foreign government threatening and killing Canadian citizens on Canadian soil," Trudeau said. He alleged that diplomats were collecting information about Canadians and passing it on to organized crime to attack Canadians, and said “India has made a monumental mistake."
India has rejected the accusations as absurd.
Relations between the two countries have been fraught since last year, when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he had evidence linking Indian agents to the assassination of a Sikh separatist leader in his country.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said they had significant information on broad criminal activity orchestrated by agents of the government of India and used to target members of the South Asian community in Canada.
The remarks set off a diplomatic storm with India terming the allegations "absurd" and "motivated".
How India-Canada ties worsened
June 18, 2023: Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who India designated as a terrorist in 2020, is shot dead by masked gunmen outside a Sikh temple in British Columbia.
Sept 1, 2023: A Canadian trade official says the country has paused talks on a proposed trade treaty with India, an unexpected move that came about three months after both countries said they planned to seal an initial pact in 2023.
Sept 10, 2023: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visits New Delhi for the G20 Summit, during which Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveys strong concerns about the ongoing Sikh separatist protests in Canada.
Sept 18, 2023: In the parliament, Trudeau says Canada is "actively pursuing credible allegations" linking Indian government agents to Nijjar's killing. "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. Any involvement of a foreign government in the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil is an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty," Trudeau told the parliament.
Sept 19, 2023: India dismisses Trudeau's assertion as "absurd." Both countries expel a diplomat in tit-for-tat moves, with Canada throwing out India's top intelligence officer in the country while India expelled his Canadian counterpart.
Sept 22, 2023: India suspends issuing new visas for Canadians and asks Ottawa to reduce its diplomatic presence in India. India resumes issuing visas two months later.
Oct 19, 2023: Canada Foreign Minister, Melanie Joly, announces that they have withdrawn 41 diplomats from India amid the ongoing dispute.
Oct 29, 2023: Tens of thousands of Sikhs turn out in Surrey, British Columbia, at the same gurdwara, a Sikh house of worship, where Nijjar was killed to vote in an unofficial referendum on the creation of an independent Sikh state - Khalistan.
Nov 21, 2023: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) files a case against Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a Sikh separatist, stating that he warned Air India passengers in video messages shared on social media that their lives were in danger.
Nov 22, 2023: A senior official from the Joe Biden administration says US authorities thwarted a plot to kill Pannun in the United States and issued a warning to India over concerns the New Delhi government was involved.
Feb 5, 2024: India's High Commissioner, in an interview with Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper, says India would not provide information to Canadian investigators until Canada shares evidence.
April 30, 2024: The White House describes as a serious matter a Washington Post report that an officer in India's intelligence service was directly involved in both Nijjar's killing and the foiled plot to kill Pannun in the US
India's foreign ministry said the report contained "unwarranted and unsubstantiated imputations."
May 3, 2024: Canadian police charge three people allegedly linked to Nijjar's murder.
Aug. 27, 2024: Canadian police warn Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, an aide to Nijjar, of an increased threat to his life.
India-Canada diplomatic row: Current situation
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) has accused "agents of Indian government" of orchestrating violent criminal activity targeting members of the South Asian community in Canada. India has strongly rejected these allegations, calling them "preposterous" and "baseless".
"Over the past few years and more recently, law enforcement agencies in Canada have successfully investigated and charged a significant number of individuals for their direct involvement in homicides, extortions and other criminal acts of violence. In addition, there have been well over a dozen credible imminent threats to life which have led to the conduct of duty to warn, by law enforcement with members of South Asian community and specifically, members of the pro-Khalistan movement," RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme said.
This led to India announcing the expulsion of six members of the Canadian high commission in Delhi, which was followed by a tit-for-tat move from Canada.
