New Delhi: The diplomatic relationship between India and Canada has taken a nosedive, escalating into a full-blown crisis. The latest salvo came after Canada launched an investigation into the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, labelling Indian diplomats, including the Indian High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma, as “persons of interest”.
India responded with a stinging rebuke, branding the allegations “preposterous” and a “strategy of smearing India for political gains”. The government summoned Canada’s charge d’affaires in New Delhi, Stewart Wheeler, to express its outrage.”The Government of India strongly rejects these preposterous imputations and ascribes them to the political agenda of the Trudeau Government that is centred around vote bank politics.”
“India now reserves the right to take further steps in response to these latest efforts of the Canadian Government to concoct allegations against Indian diplomats,” the foreign ministry added.
The Foreign Ministry pointed to the “political agenda” of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, accusing him of catering to a “vote bank” of Sikhs in Canada, while failing to curb Khalistani extremism on his own soil.
“His Cabinet has included individuals who have openly associated with an extremist and separatist agenda regarding India,” the ministry stated, highlighting a long-standing perception of Trudeau’s hostility towards India.
“High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma is India’s senior-most serving diplomat with a distinguished career spanning 36 years. He has been an Ambassador in Japan and Sudan, while also serving in Italy, Turkiye, Vietnam and China. The aspersions cast on him by the Government of Canada are ludicrous and deserve to be treated with contempt,” the foreign ministry said.
This latest confrontation stems from the 2023 murder of Nijjar, which Trudeau initially linked to “credible allegations” of Indian intelligence involvement. India vehemently denied these accusations, labeling them “absurd.”
Despite the escalating tension, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Trudeau briefly met at the ASEAN Summit in Laos. While Trudeau described the meeting as a “brief exchange,” sources in New Delhi claimed there was no substantive discussion.
“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,” Trudeau told a press conference at Vientiane.
India maintains that the core issue is Canada’s tolerance of pro-Khalistan elements operating freely within its borders. India reserves the right to take “further steps” in response to Canada’s actions, underscoring the seriousness of the current diplomatic impasse.
