NEWS
India Expels Canadian Diplomat After Being Accused of Assassinating Sikh Activist on Canadian Soil
Courtesy of justinpjtrudeau/Instagram
Canada’s formal accusation that India was likely behind the assassination of a Canadian Sikh activist on its soil has triggered a diplomatic row as each country expels the others’ representatives.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday addressed the parliament to reveal that Canada is investigating “credible allegations” that New Delhi was behind the June murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a prominent Sikh activist and Canadian citizen.
“Over the past number of weeks, 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,” Trudeau said.
The government will take steps “to hold perpetrators of this murder to account,” Trudeau said.
“Today we’re acting by expelling a key diplomat, but we will get to the bottom of this,” foreign affairs minister Mélanie Joly said during a press conference, describing the diplomat as the head of Indian intelligence within Canada.
On Tuesday, India’s foreign ministry announced the expulsion of a senior Canadian diplomat, who was given five days to leave the country.
“The decision reflects Government of India’s growing concern at the interference of Canadian diplomats in our internal matters and their involvement in anti-India activities,” the agency said in a statement.
The agency called the accusation of assassination “absurd and motivated.”
“Such unsubstantiated allegations seek to shift the focus from Khalistani terrorists and extremists, who have been provided shelter in Canada and continue to threaten India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The inaction of the Canadian Government on this matter has been a long-standing and continuing concern,” the agency said.
Canada is home to one of the largest Sikh communities outside of India, with nearly 800,000 members. Nijjar was a Sikh leader in Western Canada, and an advocate for the creation of a Sikh state known as Khalistan.
The Indian government has outlawed the Khalistan movement, which it considers a national security threat.
India’s National Investigation Agency in 2020 announced terrorism charges against Nijjar, accusing him of “trying to radicalize Sikh community across the world in favor of creation of ‘Khalistan’,” and of “trying to incite Sikhs to vote for secession, agitate against the Government of India and carry out violent activities.”
Nijjar was shot and killed by two gunmen outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, British Columbia, in June. No arrests have been made in the shooting. Police in August released a description of a vehicle of interest, and said they were investigating three possible suspects.
TMX contributed to this article.
