The RCMP warned the public about a rash of crimes including murder, extortion and coercion linked to Indian government agents on Monday
Why is India mad at Canada?
Khalistan supporters in Canada occasionally organize rallies and what they call referendum, which get little mainstream media attention in Canada but are the subject of emotive news reports in India. Organizers say India has persecuted them through decades, a claim New Delhi rejects.
Some Sikh temples have been found to be openly venerating people connected with acts of violence like the 1985 bombing of an Air India flight, which is the deadliest terrorist attack in Canadian history.
Did India kill a Canadian?
Meanwhile, American authorities last November unsealed an indictment alleging a murder-for-hire plot by an Indian national. The court file alleges an Indian government employee directed the attempted assassination in the United States, and spoke about others, including Nijjar’s killing in Canada.
India maintains that Canada has never shared evidence of the country’s involvement in the homicide, though Trudeau said Monday that Canadian authorities shared this information with their Indian peers over the weekend.
Since last autumn, India has temporarily suspended visa services for Canadians. It also withdrew diplomatic immunity for most of Canada’s envoys, which Ottawa said forced it to bring home most of its diplomats.
Is India important?
In November 2022, Canada declared India “a critical partner” in its Indo-Pacific strategy, calling for a trade agreement, more work exchanges and partnerships in renewal energy.
Canada is among the countries that have spent years trying to court New Delhi amid growing concerns about China. Ottawa has said that India is key to promoting democracy and pluralism worldwide.
India relies on Canada for large imports of lentils and potash, and is a popular destination for students looking to study abroad in both advanced research degrees and vocational colleges.
Until September 2023, Canada and India had been in numerous rounds of high-level negotiations for a trade deal restricted to key industries, years after both countries abandoned an attempt at a comprehensive deal. Canada paused the latest negotiations shortly before making public its concerns about the Nijjar case.
Is this a political spat?
In 2018, Trudeau’s visit to India caused controversy when it emerged that his delegation had invited Jaspal Atwal — a B.C. Sikh convicted of attempting to assassinate an Indian cabinet minister in 1986 — to two events with Trudeau.
In a background briefing arranged by the Prime Minister’s Office, a government official told journalists that Atwal’s presence had been arranged by factions within the Indian government who wanted to sabotage Trudeau’s visit due to the Khalistan issue.
A year ago, Indian Foreign Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar suggested the latest rift comes down to issues his government has with Canada’s Liberals.
“The problems we have are with a certain segment of Canadian politics, and the policies which flow from that,” he said.
What happened on Monday?
On Monday, the RCMP warned the public about a rash of crimes including murder, extortion and coercion linked to Indian government agents.
The RCMP and other Canadian officials confronted India earlier this past weekend, and when New Delhi refused to co-operate, Ottawa ordered six Indian diplomats to leave Canada. India has similarly expelled six Canadian diplomats.
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