India has accused Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of “authoritarian behavior” amid the ongoing diplomatic fallout following the assassination of a Sikh separatist in Canada last year.
India’s foreign ministry said Thursday that Canada has “provided no evidence” to support “serious allegations” that Indian government agents targeted Sikh separatists based in Canada, including naturalized Canadian citizens. Hardeep Singh Nijjarmurdered in Vancouver in June 2023.
The ministry criticized Trudeau, who said in a parliamentary inquiry As of Wednesday, Canada had “clear indications that India had violated Canadian sovereignty.”
The prime minister’s behavior has caused “damage” to relations between India and Canada, the ministry said.
Speaking at the inquiry, Trudeau accused India of making a “terrible mistake” and alleged that Nijjar’s killing was part of a large-scale Indian operation systematically targeting Sikh dissidents in Canada campaign for independence. Independent State of Khalistan.
On October 14, 2024, India again rejected allegations that it was linked to Nijjar’s killing, insisting that the “absurd” allegations were “a strategy to defame India for political purposes.”
On this day, India and Canada expelled their respective diplomats on the crack.
Canada’s top envoy to New Delhi, Stewart Wheeler, who was ordered to leave Saturday evening, said Ottawa had provided “credible and irrefutable evidence of a link between Indian government agents and the murder of ‘a Canadian citizen’.
Canadian authorities have arrested four Indian nationals in connection with Nijjar’s murder.
Nijjar – who immigrated to Canada in 1997 and became a citizen in 2015 – advocated the creation of a separate Sikh state, known as Khalistan, carved out of India.
He is wanted by Indian authorities on suspicion of terrorism and conspiracy to commit murder.
Last year, the Indian government restricted the granting of visas to Canadian citizens because of this problem.
Indian government also faces accusations from the United States try to kill a Sikh separatist in his region.
In November 2023, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the indictment of Indian national Nikhil Gupta for an alleged plot targeting American Sikh activist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, who also holds dual U.S. and Canadian citizenship.
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