Canadian diplomat expelled from India: India on Tuesday expelled a senior Canadian diplomat to India in return for Canada expelling a senior Indian diplomat. The move comes after India rejected as “absurd and motivated” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegation that India played a role in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June. Canadian High Commissioner to India Cameron MacKay was today summoned to South Block, the headquarters of the Foreign Ministry.
“The High Commissioner of Canada to India was summoned today and informed of the Government of India’s decision to expel a senior Canadian diplomat based in India,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement today. “The diplomat concerned has been asked to leave India within the next five days. “The decision reflects the Indian government’s growing concern over the interference of Canadian diplomats in our internal affairs and their involvement in anti-India activities,” it said.
Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said on Monday that an Indian diplomat in Canada has been expelled. Joly said the Canadian government expelled the Indian diplomat over allegations of the country’s involvement in the assassination of the Khalistani leader. “We consider this possible breach of sovereignty to be completely unacceptable.” “Unacceptable, and that is why today we are also releasing this information (about the expulsion of the Indian diplomat),” Joly said at a press conference.
Meanwhile, India rejected allegations made by Trudeau in the Canadian Parliament. “We have seen the statement made by the Prime Minister of Canada in their Parliament as well as the statement made by their Foreign Minister and we reject them,” the MEA said in an official statement. “Allegations that the Indian government is involved in acts of violence in Canada are absurd and motivated,” it said in a statement. “Similar allegations were made by the Prime Minister of Canada to our Prime Minister and were completely rejected,” the official statement said.
The statement said India is a democratic polity with a strong commitment to the rule of law. “Such baseless allegations are aimed at diverting focus from the Khalistani terrorists and extremists who have been given sanctuary in Canada and who continue to threaten the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India. “The Government of Canada’s inaction on this matter has long been a persistent problem,” the MEA statement said.
The press release said that Canadian politicians have openly expressed their sympathy for such elements and that this remains a matter of great concern. “The space given in Canada to a range of illegal activities such as murders, human trafficking and organized crime is not new,” the press release said. India has strongly rejected any attempts to link the government to such developments. “We urge the Government of Canada to take prompt and effective legal action against any anti-India elements operating from its soil,” the MEA said.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday accused the Indian government of being behind the fatal shooting of Khalistan Tiger Force chief Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada, CBC News reported. Najjar, who was wanted in India, was shot dead on June 18 outside a gurdwara in a parking lot in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada.
Nijjar hailed from Bharsinghpur village in Jalandhar province of Punjab. He was based in Surrey and was classified as a “fugitive” by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
Earlier on Monday, Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau claimed in a debate in the Canadian Parliament that his country’s national security officials had reason to believe that “agents of the Indian government” were responsible for the murder of Canadian citizen, who also served as Surrey’s president, Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara. “Canadian security agencies have been actively investigating credible allegations of a possible connection between Indian government agents and the murder of a Canadian citizen, Hardeep Singh Nijjar,” Trudeau said.
He stated that the involvement of a foreign hand or government in the killing of a Canadian citizen in Canada is unacceptable. “Any involvement of a foreign government in the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil is an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty. It flies in the face of the fundamental rules by which free, open and democratic societies operate,” Trudeau added. He further said he was coordinating with Canadian allies on the matter. “As would be expected, we have worked and coordinated closely with our allies on this very serious matter,” he said.
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