India’s remaining diplomats are ‘on notice’ not to harm Canadians, says foreign minister

Canada’s overseas curate said connected Friday India’s remaining diplomats were “clearly connected notice” not to endanger Canadian lives aft New Delhi’s apical envoy successful the state was named a person of involvement successful the assassination of a Sikh activist.

India's precocious commissioner was expelled connected Monday on with 5 different diplomats, prompting overseas curate Mélanie Joly to comparison India to Russia, saying Canada’s nationalist constabulary unit has linked Indian diplomats to homicides, decease threats and intimidation successful the country.

Ms Joly said connected Friday that Canada won't tolerate overseas diplomats putting the lives of Canadians astatine risk.

“We’ve ne'er seen that successful our history. That level of transnational repression cannot hap connected Canadian soil. We’ve seen it elsewhere successful Europe. Russia has done that successful Germany and the UK and we needed to basal firm connected this issue,” she said successful Montreal.

Asked if different Indian diplomats volition beryllium expelled, Ms Joly said: “They are intelligibly connected notice. Six of them person been expelled including the precocious commissioner successful Ottawa. Others were chiefly from Toronto and Vancouver and intelligibly we won’t tolerate immoderate diplomats that are successful contravention of the Vienna convention.”

Prime curate Justin Trudeau and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police went nationalist this week with allegations that Indian diplomats were targeting Sikh separatists successful Canada by sharing accusation astir them with their authorities backmost home. They said apical Indian officials were past passing that accusation on to Indian organized transgression groups who were targeting the activists, who are Canadian citizens, with drive-by shootings, extortions and adjacent murder.

India, for its part, has rejected the Canadian accusations arsenic absurd, and its overseas ministry said it was expelling Canada’s acting precocious commissioner and 5 different diplomats successful response.

Canada is not the lone state that has accused Indian officials of plotting an assassination connected overseas soil. The US Justice Department announced transgression charges against an Indian authorities worker Thursday successful transportation with an alleged foiled crippled to termination a Sikh separatist leader surviving successful New York City.

In the lawsuit announced by the Justice Department, Vikash Yadav, who authorities accidental directed the New York crippled from India, faces murder-for-hire charges successful a planned sidesplitting that prosecutors person antecedently said was meant to precede a drawstring of different politically motivated murders successful the United States and Canada.

US authorities person said the sidesplitting of the American Sikh antheral was to person taken spot conscionable days aft Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian Sikh activistic who was changeable and killed extracurricular a taste halfway successful Surrey, British Columbia, connected 18 June 2023. Prosecutors accidental the extremity was to termination astatine slightest 4 radical successful Canada and the US by 29 June 2023, and past much aft that.

The Nijjar sidesplitting successful Canada has soured India-Canada ties for much than a year, and contempt Canada’s assertion that it has forwarded grounds of its allegations to Indian authorities, the Indian authorities continues to contradict it has seen any.

India has repeatedly criticized the Canadian authorities for being brushed connected supporters of what is known arsenic the Khalistan movement, which is banned successful India but has enactment among the Sikh diaspora, peculiarly successful Canada.

Mr Trudeau said Wednesday that Indian premier curate Narendra Modi underlined to him astatine a G-20 acme successful India past twelvemonth that helium wanted Canada to apprehension radical who person been outspoken against the Indian government. Mr Trudeau said helium told Modi that helium felt the actions autumn wrong escaped code successful Canada.

Mr Trudeau added that helium told Modi his authorities would enactment with India connected concerns astir terrorism, incitement of hatred oregon thing that is unacceptable successful Canada. But Mr Trudeau besides noted that advocating for separatism, though not Canadian authorities policy, is not amerciable successful Canada.

The RCMP said they uncovered grounds of an intensifying run against Canadians by agents of the Indian government.

Nijjar, 45, was fatally changeable past twelvemonth successful his pickup truck. An Indian-born national of Canada, helium owned a plumbing concern and was a person successful what remains of a once-strong question to make an autarkic Sikh homeland.

Four Indian nationals surviving successful Canada were charged with Nijjar’s execution and are awaiting trial.