Canada has once again raised eyebrows regarding Indian diplomats. Canada’s Foreign Minister has said that now the Indian diplomats who are left in Canada are also on notice. The tension between the two countries has reached its peak over the murder of Khalistani Nijjar. India has recalled six diplomats including its ambassador from Canada. At the same time, Canada claims that it has evacuated these people. Amidst all this, a new statement from Canada’s Foreign Minister Melanie Jolly has come to light.
Melanie was asked whether other Indian diplomats would also be expelled. On this he said that clearly he is on everyone’s notice. He said that six people, including the High Commissioner in Ottawa, have been evacuated. Others were from Toronto and Vancouver. Melanie said that we will not tolerate any diplomat who is violating the Vienna Convention. Jolly’s statement comes after the Royal Canadian Mounted Police alleged the involvement of Indian diplomats in the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Hardeep Singh Nijjar was a Khalistani terrorist and was killed in British Columbia last year.
The Canadian Foreign Minister said that we have never seen anything like this in our history. Such an anti-national act has never happened on Canadian soil. He said that we had just seen this happening in Europe. Russia did this in Germany and Britain. We need to stand firm on this issue. Canadian police allege that Indian diplomats working in Canada shared information about Sikh activists with Indian authorities, who handed it over to organized crime groups. Canadian authorities have linked these groups to extortion, drive-by shootings and the killing of pro-Khalistan activists, including Nijjar.
India rejected the allegations and called them absurd. In retaliation, six Canadian diplomats, including the acting High Commissioner in New Delhi, were expelled. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal rejected these claims and accused Canada of harboring people wanted on terrorism-related charges in India. Pointing to the 26 extradition requests filed by India, Jaiswal said it is strange that people whom we asked to be extradited to Canada are now being accused of crimes in Canada. He also suggested that Canada had not processed provisional arrest requests for several individuals linked to terrorism.
