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India withdraws its envoy, expels 6 Canada diplomats

Oct 15, 2024 05:52 AM IST

India expelled six Canadian diplomats and withdrew its envoy after Canada named them in a Nijjar murder investigation, escalating diplomatic tensions.

New Delhi/Toronto India on Monday expelled six Canadian diplomats and withdrew its envoy and five more officials from Canada after they were designated “persons of interest” in the investigation into the killing of pro-Khalistan activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a move described by New Delhi as “preposterous” and part of the Trudeau government’s vote-bank politics.

Canada Deputy High Commissioner to India Stewart Wheeler coming out from External Affair Ministry after meeting with Secretary (East) Jaideep Mazumder at South Block, in New Delhi, on Monday. (HT Photo)
Canada Deputy High Commissioner to India Stewart Wheeler coming out from External Affair Ministry after meeting with Secretary (East) Jaideep Mazumder at South Block, in New Delhi, on Monday. (HT Photo)

The downgrading of diplomatic ties took the India-Canada relationship to a fresh low, a year after it was roiled by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegation in September 2023 that Indian government agents were linked to the death of Nijjar, already designated a terrorist by New Delhi. At the time, India rejected the accusation as “absurd”.

On Monday morning, the external affairs ministry rejected Canada’s move to name the Indian high commissioner to Ottawa, Sanjay Verma, and other diplomats as “‘persons of interest’ in a matter related to an investigation. While the ministry didn’t give specifics about the probe, people familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity the probe was related to Nijjar, gunned down by unidentified men outside a gurdwara in Surrey in June 2023.

By Monday evening, Canadian charge d’affaires Stewart Wheeler was summoned to the external affairs ministry and informed by secretary (East) Jaideep Mazumdar that the “baseless targeting” of the Indian envoy was “completely unacceptable”. Wheeler was also told India had decided to withdraw the high commissioner and other targeted diplomats and officials because the “Trudeau government’s actions endangered their safety” in an “atmosphere of extremism and violence”, the ministry said.

The people cited above said the Indian side decided to withdraw a total of six diplomats and officials, including Verma, from its high commission in Ottawa and consulates in Toronto and Vancouver. “We have no faith in the current Canadian Government’s commitment to ensure their security,” the ministry said about the decision.

The Indian side said it “reserves the right to take further steps in response to the Trudeau Government’s support for extremism, violence and separatism against India”, hinting at further retaliatory steps.

Soon after, the external affairs ministry announced the expulsion of Wheeler, deputy high commissioner Patrick Herbert, and four diplomats of the rank of first secretary. They were asked to leave India before midnight on October 19.

The people cited above said Verma was summoned by Global Affairs Canada, or the foreign ministry, late last week and given a note verbale, or unsigned diplomatic correspondence, which stated that Canadian law enforcement authorities wanted to interrogate Indian diplomats in connection with the killing of Nijjar.

“Person of interest” is a term used by law enforcement in the US and Canada for a person possibly linked to an investigation who has not been arrested or formally accused of any crime. It is usually used to refer to someone whom law enforcement personnel are interested in because they may have information that could assist the investigation.

While withdrawing Verma from Ottawa, India is expected to deny accreditation to Christopher Cooter as the next Canadian high commissioner to India, the people said. The post has been vacant since Cameron Mackay left New Delhi in June.

Meanwhile, Reuters cited a Canadian government source to report that the Indian officials in Ottawa were “expelled” after police collected evidence they were part of an Indian government “campaign of violence”. The Washington Post also reported the diplomats were expelled.

Amid these developments, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) said in a briefing in Ottawa that its investigation had unearthed a “significant amount of information on the breadth and depth of criminal activity orchestrated by agents of the government of India, in consequential threats to the safety and security of Canadians and individuals living in Canada”.

RCMP officials said organised crime elements were used for this purpose, and named the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, adding it was believed to be “connected to agents of India”. RCMP commissioner Mike Duheme said there were links between Indian agents and “violent crime”, including homicides and extortion. However, Duheme didn’t directly comment on the investigation into Nijjar’s killing or offer any direct evidence.

Duheme said RCMP deputy commissioner Mark Flynn accompanied Canada’s National Security Adviser Nathalie Drouin and deputy minister of foreign affairs David Morrison to Singapore, where they met India’s NSA Ajit Doval and other officials over the weekend and apprised them of these concerns and sought cooperation.

“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,” Duheme said.

The Washington Post reported that the meeting in Singapore was held on Saturday and lasted five hours. The Canadian side sought the meeting to warn the Indian government “that details exposing Indian involvement in attacks were likely to become public as prosecutors move forward next month with a planned trial of four suspects in Nijjar’s killing”, the report said.

Earlier on Monday, the external affairs ministry said it had received a diplomatic communication from Canada on Sunday regarding the Indian envoy and other diplomats being “persons of interest” in an investigation.

“The Government of India strongly rejects these preposterous imputations and ascribes them to the political agenda of the Trudeau Government that is centered around vote-bank politics,” the ministry said.

The ministry noted that Verma is India’s most senior serving diplomat with a career spanning 36 years, during which he has been ambassador to Japan and Sudan and served in Italy, Turkiye, Vietnam and China. “The aspersions cast on him by the Government of Canada are ludicrous and deserve to be treated with contempt,” it said.

The ministry said that since Trudeau made the allegations last September, the Canadian government “has not shared a shred of evidence with the Government of India, despite many requests from our side”.

It added: “This latest step follows interactions that have again witnessed assertions without any facts. This leaves little doubt that on the pretext of an investigation, there is a deliberate strategy of smearing India for political gains.”

Following a brief encounter between Trudeau and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the margins of the recent Asean Summit in Laos, the Indian side told top Canadian officials that Ottawa cannot make unsubstantiated charges against the Indian government regarding Nijjar’s murder without producing evidence, according to the people cited above.

Trudeau said he had a “brief exchange” with Modi in Laos but the Indian side made it clear there was no substantive discussion between them.

The external affairs ministry’s statement on Monday morning, which was worded in an unusually strong manner, said Trudeau’s “hostility to India has long been in evidence”.

“His Cabinet has included individuals who have openly associated with an extremist and separatist agenda regarding India. His naked interference in Indian internal politics in December 2020 showed how far he was willing to go in this regard,” the statement said.

“That his Government was dependent on a political party, whose leader openly espouses a separatist ideology vis-à-vis India, only aggravated matters,” the statement said, in an apparent reference to New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh, who has openly backed the cause of Khalistan and targeted India on numerous occasions.

The Trudeau government, facing criticism for turning a “blind eye to foreign interference” in Canadian politics, has “deliberately brought in India in an attempt to mitigate the damage”, the statement added.

The Indian side contended the latest move by the Trudeau government was tied to his appearance before a Canadian commission investigating foreign interference in domestic politics and the backing of an “anti-India” agenda for securing the backing of Khalistani elements.

“This latest development targeting Indian diplomats is now the next step in that direction. It is no coincidence that it takes place as Prime Minister Trudeau is to depose before a Commission on foreign interference. It also serves the anti-India separatist agenda that the Trudeau Government has constantly pandered to for narrow political gains,” the statement said.

The statement noted that Trudeau’s visit to India in 2018, “which was aimed at currying favour with a vote bank, rebounded to his discomfort”.

The statement reiterated the Indian side’s allegation that the Trudeau government has “consciously provided space to violent extremists and terrorists to harass, threaten and intimidate Indian diplomats and community leaders in Canada”. This has included death threats to the Indian diplomats and leaders.

“All these activities have been justified in the name of freedom of speech. Some individuals who have entered Canada illegally have been fast-tracked for citizenship. Multiple extradition requests from the Government of India in respect of terrorists and organised crime leaders living in Canada have been disregarded,” the statement added.

The Indian government has “taken cognisance of the activities of the Canadian High Commission in India that serve the political agenda of the current regime” and this led to the implementation of the principle of reciprocity in regard to diplomatic representation, the statement said, referring a decision by New Delhi last year that forced Ottawa to withdraw 41 diplomats from India.

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