India told Canadian diplomat to leave within five days

Photo: Canadian Diplomat

Reacting in kind, India on Tuesday expelled the country’s top Canadian diplomat Olivier Sylvester (based in Delhi), hours after Canada expelled another Indian diplomat (in Ottawa) following Canadian PM Justin Trudeau’s charge of “possible” Indian

Ministry of External affairs summoned the high Canadian commissioner, Cameron MacKay; and notified him about India’s move to expel the diplomat from Canada based in India.

“The decision to deny visa represents GOI’s anxiety over growing Canadian diplomat’s interference in our nationwide affairs and their connection in anti-India activities,” reads a release from the MEA.

He was instructed to leave India in 5 days.

In a major twist on Tuesday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau informed the parliament of Canada, “that Canadian security services were investigating credible claims of links between Indian officials and the murder of a Canadian citizen, Hardev Singh Nagjar.”

After Trudeau’s allegations, Canada then expelled India’s number two diplomat. The Canadian Foreign Ministry released a statement saying that the Indian Chief of the Intelligence Bureau Pavan Kumar Rai is being kicked out for this.

Within a few hours, and very quickly too, Canada’s High Commissioner to India, Olivier Sylvester was summarily thrown out of the country. Today, Mr Sajjan was called at the Ministry of External Affairs and was informed that India will be expelling a diplomat in retaliation.

The government dismissed these charges calling them ‘absurd and motivated’ and maintained the country’s adherence to rule of law. “Such allegations (of GoI’s role in any act of violence in Canada) are laughable and frivolous,” MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said in a statement.

  India also claimed that Canada shelters Khalistani terrorists who “continue to pose threat to India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”, and added that Canada’s lack of action in addressing the problem is “a longstanding and continuing concern”.

According to some foreign reports, Trudeau is keeping some closest partners such as Joe Biden from America, Rishi Sunak from Britain and Emmanuel Macron from France informed on what’s going on in the recent India-Canada diplomatic scenario.

Responding to the new India-Canada row, UNITED STATE claimed, “We remain deeply troubled”, in response to charges made publicly by Trudeau. The White House statement echoed, “It is absolutely vital that the Canadian inquiry continue, and the guilty parties be held accountable.”

Heightened Security outside Canadian High Commission, New Delhi is a reactive answer to this incident. Larger strengths of CRPF and Delhi Police have been deployed close to the office.

He was the Chief of Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) — a banned organization in India. Nijjar, a Canadian national, was wanted in the 2007 blast case where six people were killed and 42 injured in Ludhiana (Punjab). Indian had tried many times to get his extradition. In 2020 India declared him a designated terrorist.
 

Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot to death by unknown attackers in front of a gurdwara in Canada’s British Columbia territory June 18. Canadian police stated that 45 year old, Hardeep Singh Nijjar was discovered with several gun shot wound and pronounced dead on sight shortly after the shooting incident at the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara.