India furious as diplomats declared ‘persons of interest’ in Canada probe

New Delhi is furious over Canada declaring India’s ambassador to Ottawa and other Indian diplomats as “persons of interest” in a matter related to an investigation, calling the move “preposterous” and part of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s “vote bank politics”.

Since September 2023, when Trudeau claimed Canada had credible evidence linking Indian agents to Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s assassination on Canadian soil, India-Canada relations have been tense.

Nijjar was a supporter of an independent Khalistani state and India declared him a “terrorist” in July 2020.

However, New Delhi has repeatedly refuted the claim that his agents killed him and pressed Canada to provide supporting evidence.

The Indian Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement on Monday that it “strongly rejects these absurd imputations and attributes them to the Trudeau Government’s political agenda” and that Canada has not provided any proof “despite many requests from our side.”

This latest move comes after previous interactions where assertions are made up without any facts are made. There is no denying that India has been deliberately targeted for political gain under the pretext of an investigation, the statement continued.

India now has the option to take additional actions in response to the government’s most recent attempts to make allegations against Indian diplomats, according to the statement.

Additionally, New Delhi claimed that the Trudeau administration “has consciously provided space for violent extremists and terrorists to harass, threaten, and intimidate Indian diplomats and community leaders in Canada.”

After New Delhi requested a reduction in its diplomatic presence in October 2023, Canada recalled more than 40 Indian diplomats.

Based on information provided by intelligence agencies, a committee of Canadian parliamentarians named India and China as the main international threats to its democratic institutions in June of this year.

India’s envoy in Ottawa, Sanjay Kumar Verma, called the report politically motivated and influenced by Sikh separatist campaigners.

Trudeau stated earlier this year that he hoped India would “engage with us so that we can get to the bottom of this very serious matter.”

Soon after Canada’s allegation, the United States claimed that Indian agents were involved in a 2023 Sikh separatist leader’s attempted assassination and that an Indian national had been arrested while employed by an unnamed Indian government official.