Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Jolie, center, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, right, and Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs Dominique LeBlanc participate in a press conference regarding investigative efforts related to violent criminal activity taking place in Canada with ties to India, on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, on Monday, October 14, 2024 | Photo: AP
Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly on Friday (Oct 18, 2024) said remaining Indian diplomats in the country were “clearly on notice” after Canada named India’s high commissioner in Ottawa as a person of interest in assassination of a Sikh separatist leader.
Ms. Joly said the government will not tolerate any diplomats who violate the Vienna Convention or put Canadians’ lives at risk.
India expels six Canadian diplomats on Monday and announced he was withdrawing his high commissioner to Canada after rejecting Ottawa’s accusations linking the envoy to the investigation into the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijar.
However, Canada said it had expelled six Indian diplomats.
Ms. Jolly, comparing India to Russia, said Canada’s national police have linked Indian diplomats to murders, death threats and intimidation in Canada.
“We have never seen this in our history. This level of transnational repression cannot happen on Canadian soil. We have seen it elsewhere in Europe. Russia did this in Germany and the UK and we had to stand firm on this issue,” she said in Montreal.
Asked if other Indian diplomats would be expelled, Ms Jolie said: “They are clearly on notice. Six of them were expelled, including the High Commissioner in Ottawa. Others were mostly from Toronto and Vancouver, and it is clear that we will not tolerate any diplomats who are in violation of the Vienna Convention.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police went public this week with allegations that Indian diplomats targeted Sikh separatists in Canada by sharing information about them with the government back home.
Invoking the notorious Bishnoi crime gang, the RCMP said senior Indian officials were passing on information about Sikh separatists to Indian organized crime groups that were targeting the activists.
Relations between India and Canada have been severely strained since Prime Minister Trudeau’s allegations last September of the “potential” involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijar, who was shot dead in Surrey, British Columbia.
India dismissed Canada’s allegations as absurd and politically motivated.
India has repeatedly criticized Mr. Trudeau’s government for being soft on supporters of the Khalistan movement who live in Canada.
Published – 19 Oct 2024 07:31 AM IST
