The government of India has decided to withdraw its High Commissioner from Canada amidst Ottawa’s allegations linking him and other Indian diplomats to the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. The MEA, after summoning the Charge d’Affaires at the Canadian High Commission in New Delhi, expressed the loss of confidence in the Canadian government over assurances on the safety of Indian officials.
It was underlined that in an environment of extremism and violence, the actions taken by the Trudeau government put their security at risk. Consequently, India has decided to withdraw the High Commissioner and other targeted diplomats and officials,” it said.
Relations between the two countries have worsened further since Canada announced that it was investigating the Indian High Commissioner as a “person of interest” in Nijjar’s murder. The Indian government got diplomatic communication from Canada, insinuating that Indian diplomats were involved.
The ministry called the charges against High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma “absurd.” Verma, who was part of the distinguished Indian Foreign Service for 36 years, was an ambassador in Japan and Sudan, with assignments in several other countries. The foreign ministry slammed the aspersions on him, termed them “preposterous,” and said they were part of a “motivated campaign” to malign India for political mileage.
The government also conveyed to the senior Canadian diplomat that the “baseless targeting” of Indian officials was “wholly unacceptable,” asserting its right to take additional measures in response to what is perceived as support by the Trudeau government for extremism and separatism.
The broadside against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for his “hostility to India” cited a number of his past actions that have strained states’ diplomatic relations, including India’s reduction of visas for Canadians and demand for the withdrawal of Canadian diplomats last year.
This latest diplomatic rift comes after a brief interaction between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Trudeau at the ASEAN Summit in Laos, which sources from New Delhi maintained did not lead to any substantial discussion. The growing tensions center around Canada’s perceived tolerance of pro-Khalistan elements operating on its soil.
