India Protests as Diplomats Named in Nijjar case
New Delhi | Desk: India has expressed strong outrage over Canada’s decision to designate its ambassador in Ottawa and other diplomats as “persons of interest” in a high-profile investigation, intensifying an already strained diplomatic relationship between the two countries following the murder of a Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar last year.
Tensions between India and Canada have been simmering since September 2023, when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged that Canadian intelligence had credible evidence linking Indian agents to the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a prominent proponent of an independent Khalistani state for Sikhs. Nijjar, who was killed on Canadian soil earlier in 2023, had been declared a “terrorist” by India in July 2020.
India has consistently denied any involvement in Nijjar’s killing, demanding that Canada provide proof to support its accusations.
On Monday, India’s Ministry of External Affairs revealed that it had received an official diplomatic note from Canada, indicating that India’s High Commissioner and several other diplomats were now considered “persons of interest” in the ongoing probe. Canada has yet to make any public statement on this matter.
India responded forcefully, rejecting the accusations as “absurd” and accusing the Trudeau government of pursuing a politically motivated agenda. The ministry’s statement emphasized that Canada has not provided any evidence to support its claims, despite repeated requests from New Delhi.
“This latest move continues a pattern of baseless assertions without any factual foundation. It is evident that under the pretense of an investigation, there is a deliberate attempt to smear India for political gain,” the statement read.
The Indian government further warned that it “reserves the right to take appropriate steps” in response to Canada’s actions, signaling a potential escalation in diplomatic tensions.
New Delhi also accused the Canadian government of creating a safe environment for “violent extremists and terrorists” to target and intimidate Indian diplomats and community leaders in Canada.
In October 2023, the diplomatic rift deepened when Canada withdrew over 40 of its diplomats from India, following New Delhi’s demand for a reduction in Ottawa’s diplomatic presence.
Earlier this year, a Canadian parliamentary committee identified India and China as major foreign threats to its democratic institutions, citing intelligence reports. India’s envoy to Canada, Sanjay Kumar Verma, dismissed the findings as politically driven, influenced by Sikh separatist movements in Canada.
In a previous statement, Prime Minister Trudeau expressed hope that India would cooperate to resolve the issue, stating, “We hope India will engage with us so that we can uncover the truth behind this serious matter.”
The controversy has since widened to include the United States. Shortly after Canada’s accusations, the U.S. claimed that Indian agents were involved in an attempted assassination plot against another Sikh separatist leader in New York in 2023. A U.S. court has since indicted an Indian national alleged to have acted under the orders of an unnamed Indian government official.
These incidents have strained India’s relations with both Canada and the U.S., even as Western nations seek to deepen ties with New Delhi in efforts to counter China’s growing global influence.