NEW DELHI, (Reuters, ANI) – India has decided to withdraw its High Commissioner and several other diplomats from Canada following the Trudeau government saying they were linked to the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, early media reports said on October 14.The Indian Foreign Ministry criticized the Canadian government, stating they have “endangered their safety” amidst “an atmosphere of extremism and violence.” The ministry expressed a lack of faith in Ottawa’s ability to ensure the security of Indian diplomats, leading to the decision to bring them back, the Gautam Adani owned media outlet NDTV said.
India summoned Canada’s chargé d’affaires in New Delhi, Stewart Wheeler, following this latest diplomatic fallout, marking a new low in bilateral relations.
The confrontation stems from Ottawa’s investigation, which labeled India’s High Commissioner and other diplomats as “persons of interest” in relation to Nijjar’s assassination. India vehemently rejected the allegations, calling them part of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s “political agenda” motivated by “vote bank politics” within Canada’s Sikh community. New Delhi argued that these accusations were “preposterous” and without evidence, accusing the Canadian government of pursuing a “deliberate strategy” to smear India for domestic political gains.
This latest diplomatic clash follows an earlier demand from India in October 2023, when New Delhi asked Canada to significantly reduce its diplomatic presence, resulting in the withdrawal of more than 40 Canadian diplomats from India.
These assassination plots against Sikh separatist leaders in both Canada and the U.S. have tested India’s diplomatic relationships with Western nations, which are keen on fostering stronger ties with New Delhi to counterbalance China’s growing global influence. Despite these tensions, Prime Minister Trudeau has called for India to engage in dialogue to “get to the bottom” of these serious issues. However, New Delhi remains deeply skeptical of the Canadian government’s intentions and its commitment to ensuring the safety of Indian diplomats and interests.
India’s firm stance against the Trudeau administration reflects its broader concerns about the influence of Sikh separatists in Canada. The ongoing investigations, along with diplomatic tit-for-tat measures, have left bilateral relations at their lowest point in recent history, with no clear resolution in sight.
Prime Minister Modi and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau both attended the ASEAN Summit in Laos on October 11.
In a short unofficial meeting on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Laos, discussions between the two amounted to nothing “substantive”, sources said.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation or CBC News said Trudeau described the interaction with as a “brief exchange”. “I emphasized that there is work that we need to do,” CBC News quoted Trudeau as saying.
Modi does not do press conferences but Trudeau, in his said, “I won’t go into details about what we talked about but what I’ve said many times is that the safety of Canadians and upholding the rule of law is one of the fundamental responsibilities of any Canadian government and that’s what I’ll stay focused on.”