"India has decided to withdraw the high commissioner"
India and Canada have each expelled six diplomats as part of a rising dispute over the June 2023 assassination of a Sikh separatist in Canada.
Relations have been fractured since the incident when Justin Trudeau said he had evidence that Indian agents were behind the death of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
India denied Mr Trudeau’s accusation.
On October 14, 2024, India said six diplomats were withdrawn, including the country’s ambassador in Ottawa, after they were declared a “person of interest” in the investigation into the killing.
Dismissing Canada’s move, India accused Mr Trudeau of pursuing a “political agenda”.
India’s foreign ministry said: “We have no faith in the current Canadian government’s commitment to ensure their security.
“Therefore, the government of India has decided to withdraw the high commissioner and other targeted diplomats and officials.”
But according to Canadian sources, they had been expelled, not withdrawn.
India later said it had asked the six Canadian diplomats to leave by October 19.
It also said it had summoned Stewart Wheeler, the Canadian Charge d’Affaires, to protest.
The Canadian government has not publicly confirmed that it has named any Indian official as a person of interest.
Mr Wheeler said: “Canada has provided credible, irrefutable evidence of ties between agents of the government of India and the murder of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil.
“Now, it is time for India to live up to what it said it would do and look into those allegations.”
India has repeatedly said Canada has not shared any evidence to support its claim.
India’s foreign ministry said: “This latest step follows interactions that have again witnessed assertions without any facts.
“This leaves little doubt that on the pretext of an investigation, there is a deliberate strategy of smearing India for political gains.”
In October 2023, Canada withdrew over 40 diplomats from India.
In June 2024, a committee of Canadian parliamentarians named India and China as the main foreign threats to its democratic institutions, based on input from intelligence agencies.
The USA has also claimed that Indian agents were involved in an attempted assassination plot against another Sikh separatist leader in 2023.
It said it had implied an Indian national working at the behest of an unnamed Indian government official.
India expressed concern after the US raised the issue, dissociating itself from the plot, and launching an investigation.
Allegations of assassination plots targeting Sikh separatist leaders in Canada and the US have strained their relationships with India, as both countries seek to strengthen ties with India to counter China’s growing global influence.
A committee from the Indian government, investigating potential Indian involvement in a foiled assassination attempt in the US, is set to meet with American officials in Washington.
The US has urged India to address claims by the Justice Department that an unnamed Indian intelligence official orchestrated plans to assassinate Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a prominent Sikh separatist and dual US-Canadian citizen.
The State Department said an Indian inquiry committee “is actively investigating the individual” and that India had informed the US that it was looking into “other linkages of the former government employee”.
It said: “The inquiry committee will be travelling to Washington on Oct 15 as part of their ongoing investigations to discuss the case, including information they have obtained, and to receive an update from US authorities regarding the US case that is proceeding.”
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