The assassination of a Sikh activist in Canada and the country’s accusation of India’s involvement in it heated the relationship between the two countries.
Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau earlier said Canada was investigating the allegations linking India to the killing of Canadian citizen and prominent Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
“Over the past number of weeks, Canadian security agencies have been actively pursuing credible allegations of a potential link between agents of the government of India and the killing of a Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar,” Trudeau said in parliament on Monday.
Canada also sent home an Indian diplomat, the head of the Indian Intelligence agency in Canada back. Justin Trudeau also discussed the issue with US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
India rejected Trudeau’s allegations calling them ‘absurd and motivated’.’We are a democratic polity with a strong commitment to the rule of law, a statement released by the country’s foreign ministry said. In an act of giving it back to Canada, India’s foreign ministry expelled a senior Canadian diplomat based in India.
Nijjar was gunned down in his truck in June by two masked gunmen outside a Sikh temple in Surrey British Columbia. Nijjar was a supporter of the creation of a separate Sikh homeland known as Khalistan and often led peaceful protests.
The Khalistan movement is considered a national security threat by the Indian government and a lot of groups associated with the movement are listed as ‘terrorist organizations’ under UAPA – India’s Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.
It looks like the relationship between India and Canada is strained and is likely to further sour. Already a trade deal between the two countries is paused and it has to be seen what happens next.
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