Daily Times

The diplomatic dispute over the murder of a Sikh leader between New Delhi and Ottawa grew worse on Tuesday when India expelled a Canadian diplomat in retaliation, sparking a global outcry.

After Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused the Narendra Modi administration of being involved in the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia in June, relations between the two countries reached a new low.

As a result of his support for a Sikh homeland in the form of an independent state of Khalistan, Nijjar, who was fatally shot outside a Sikh temple in June, had been labelled a “terrorist” by India in July 2020.

The Canadian high commissioner, or ambassador, in New Delhi had been summoned and told of the expulsion decision, India’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

“The decision reflects the government of India’s growing concern at the interference of Canadian diplomats in our internal matters and their involvement in anti-India activities,” the ministry added.

“The concerned diplomat has been asked to leave India within the next five days.”

Prior to the incident, Justin Trudeau, the prime minister of Canada, discussed it with his closest allies.

According to a senior government source cited by CBC News, Prime Minister Trudeau has informed the leaders of France’s Emmanuel Macron, the UK’s Rishi Sunak, and the United States’ Joe Biden about the developments in the assassination of Khalistan leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

India’s top intelligence agent in Canada was also expelled. The Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) was led by Pavan Kumar Rai, who was based out of the Indian High Commission in Canada.

The Canadian PM revealed in a speech at an emergency meeting of the assembly the shocking information regarding the Indian role in the incident.

According to Prime Minister Trudeau, Canada was “actively pursuing credible allegations” that Indian government agents were involved in the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

On the fringes of the G20 summit last week in New Delhi, Trudeau claimed to have brought up the murder directly with Modi and urged his administration to work with Canada to find a solution.

In response, Modi expressed to Trudeau his grave concern regarding recent Sikh protests in Canada calling for an independent state.

With about 770,000 people declaring Sikhism as their religion in the 2021 census, Canada has the largest population of Sikhs outside of the Indian state of Punjab.