I exchanged India andCanada The two countries' ambassadors and other senior diplomats were expelled after New Delhi announced that its High Commissioner to Canada was considered among “persons of interest” in the case of the killing of a separatist leader from… Sikh Last year in Vancouver.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused India of direct involvement in the killing of a Canadian citizen who was a Sikh separatist in western Canada, and announced the expulsion of 6 Indian diplomats and consular representatives linked to the incident.
Trudeau said Canadian law enforcement has obtained clear and strong evidence that Indian government agents have engaged and continue to engage in activities that pose a significant threat to public safety.
He added that these activities include collecting information and actions targeting South Asian Canadians, and confirmed that Indian government agents participated in more than 10 acts of threats and violence.
Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Jolie said the six expelled were “persons of connection” to the killing of Hardeep Singh Nigar, a well-known activist who called for the creation of a Sikh state independent of India, who was killed in June 2023.
The negative alternative
In response, India announced that 6 Canadian diplomats – including Acting High Commissioner Stuart Ross Wheeler – must leave the country.
The Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that it was the one that withdrew its diplomats from Canada, after it received a diplomatic message from Canada indicating that the Indian High Commissioner and other diplomats were persons of interest in the ongoing investigation.
The Indian Foreign Ministry warned that India now reserves the right to take additional measures in response to the Canadian government's recent efforts to fabricate allegations against Indian diplomats.
Nijar, who holds Canadian citizenship, was shot dead in June 2023 in front of a Sikh cultural center in Surrey on the west coast of Canada.
The Canadian Foreign Ministry said that the police asked New Delhi to “waive diplomatic and consular immunities and cooperate in the investigation,” but the request was rejected.
Relations between the two countries have deteriorated since Trudeau last year accused the Indian government of killing Nigar, accusations India rejected as “ridiculous” and politically motivated.