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Canadian diplomat ordered to depart the nation in 5 days, hours after Ottawa expels Indian diplomat over the killing of a Sikh separatist.
A senior Canadian diplomat has been ordered to depart India, the Indian international ministry stated, hours after Ottawa expelled an Indian diplomat in an escalating rift over the killing of a Sikh separatist earlier this yr.
New Delhi’s choice mirrored its “rising concern on the interference of Canadian diplomats in our inner issues and their involvement in anti-India actions”, the international ministry stated in a press release on Tuesday.
The duelling expulsions come as relations between Canada and India are tense. Commerce talks have been derailed and Canada simply cancelled a commerce mission to India that was deliberate later this yr.
Protests by pro-Sikh independence teams in Canada have angered Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s authorities.
Canada on Monday stated it was “actively pursuing credible allegations” linking Indian authorities brokers to the homicide of the Sikh separatist chief Hardeep Singh Nijjar exterior a cultural centre in Surrey, British Columbia on June 18.
Nijjar was reportedly organising an unofficial referendum in India for an impartial Sikh nation on the time of this loss of life.
India dismissed the Canadian accusation as “absurd and motivated” and urged it as an alternative to take authorized motion towards anti-Indian components working from its soil.
Final yr, the Indian authorities introduced a money reward for info resulting in Nijjar’s arrest, accusing him of involvement in an alleged assault on a Hindu priest in India.
The Sikh independence, or Khalistan, motion is banned in India, the place officers see it and affiliated teams as a nationwide safety menace. However the motion nonetheless has some assist in northern India, in addition to nations like Canada and the UK that are house to a large Sikh diaspora.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau advised the parliament on Monday he introduced up Nijjar’s killing with Modi on the Group of 20 (G20) Summit final week. He stated he advised Modi that any Indian authorities involvement could be unacceptable and that he requested for cooperation within the investigation.
“Any involvement of a international authorities within the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil is an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty,” he stated. “Within the strongest doable phrases I proceed to induce the federal government of India to cooperate with Canada to unravel this matter.”
On Tuesday, India’s international ministry launched a press release, dismissing the allegation and saying Trudeau had made comparable allegations to Modi.
“Such unsubstantiated allegations search to shift the main focus from Khalistani terrorists and extremists, who’ve been supplied shelter in Canada and proceed to threaten India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the statementsaid, referring to the proposed identify of a Sikh homeland.
Canadian Overseas Minister Mélanie Joly stated a prime diplomat, who she stated was the pinnacle of Indian intelligence in Canada, was expelled as a consequence.
“If confirmed true this could be an ideal violation of our sovereignty and of probably the most fundamental rule of how nations take care of one another,” Joly stated. “As a consequence we’ve expelled a prime Indian diplomat.”
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