The Indian government announced on Monday its decision to withdraw its ambassador to Canada and other diplomats from his mission to Ottawa to protest the decision to investigate Indian officials in connection with the assassination of a Sikh leader on Canadian territory in 2023.
In a statement, the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that “the the actions of the Trudeau government have put their security at risk. ». “We have no confidence in the current Canadian government’s commitment to guaranteeing their security,” added the Indian Foreign Ministry.
The decision was communicated on Monday to Canada’s charge d’affaires in New Delhi, who was summoned to the ministry and informed that “the baseless attacks” against Indian diplomats “were totally unacceptable.”
In addition, India indicated that it reserved the right to take additional measures in response to the Canadian government supports “extremism, violence and separatism against India”.
Hours earlier, Foreign Affairs issued another statement saying it had been informed by Canada that the Indian ambassador in Ottawa, Sanjay KumarVermaand other diplomats were considered “persons of interest” in an ongoing investigation in Canada.
Although he did not discuss the matter, India and Canada have had tense relations for years. Trudeau accused the Indian government of being behind the 2023 murder in the Canadian territory of Hardeep Singh Nijjara leader of the Sikh community accused of terrorism by Indian authorities.
These accusations led to a rapid escalation, with withdrawal of 41 Canadian diplomats from New Delhi end of 2023.
Justifying his government’s position, the Canadian charge d’affaires, Stewart Wheeler, declared to the media upon leaving the ministry that Canada provided India with ‘credible and refutable evidence’ of links between Indian government agents and the murder of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil.
“Now is the time for India to follow through on its promises and investigate these allegations. It is in the interests of both countries and our people to get to the bottom of this matter. Canada is willing to cooperate with India. ” he concluded.
India, for its part, accuses Trudeau wanting to win votes with these statements, and assures that it has not received any proof from the Canadian government concerning its involvement in the murder of the Sikh leader, who advocated the creation in the Indian state of Punjab of an independent country, Khalistan, for this religious minority
In addition, New Delhi accuses Canada of being permissive towards several pro-Khalistan separatist leaders and “deliberately providing space for violent extremists and terrorists to harass, threaten and intimidate Indian diplomats and community leaders in Canada.”
Canadian police arrested the suspected perpetrators of last May’s shooting who ended Nijjar’s life
