India-Canada news : According to a Canadian official, the claim that India was responsible for the murder of a Sikh Canadian is supported by evidence gleaned from surveillance of Indian diplomats working there.
Overview of India-Canada news :
A member of the “Five Eyes” intelligence-sharing alliance, which also includes the United States, Britain, Australia, and New Zealand, as well as Canada, contributed some of the intelligence, according to the official, who said that the conversations involved Indian officials and Indian ambassadors in Canada. The official gave no information regarding which ally provided intelligence, the contents of the messages, or how they were obtained. Due to their lack of authorization to speak publicly about the situation, the official spoke only under the condition of anonymity.
The disclosure came as the gulf grew amid Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s suspicions of possible Indian complicity in the death of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a 45-year-old Sikh separatist. India also instructed Canada to cut its diplomatic staff.
India-Canada news : After Trudeau informed Parliament on Monday that there were “credible allegations” of Indian complicity in the assassination on Canadian soil, relations between the two countries broke down to their lowest point in years.
Before he was shot dead in June outside the temple he led in Surrey, a suburb of Vancouver, Nijjar, an Indian-born plumber who became a citizen of Canada in 2007, had been wanted by India for years.
“The decision to share these allegations on the floor of the House of Commons was not done lightly,” he claimed. “There is no doubt that India is a nation of rising importance and that we need to keep working with India.” “We are not looking to stir up trouble or cause it, but we are clear about the value of the rule of law and the value of protecting Canadians.”
India-Canada news : An international tit-for-tat ensued as a result of the shocking allegation, with each nation removing a diplomat. India referred to the accusations as “absurd.”
Canada has not yet made any of Trudeau’s claims public, and Bob Rae, Canada’s ambassador to the United Nations, suggested that may not happen anytime soon.
According to Rae, who spoke to reporters on Thursday, “this is very early days,” and while facts will surface, they must “come out in the course of the pursuit of justice.”
In Canada, we refer to it as the rule of law, he said.
The organization that manages Indian visas in Canada declared that services had been halted in the interim. According to the Indian Bureau of Immigration, 277,000 Canadian tourists would visit India in 2022, making them one of the top international visitors to the country.
India-Canada news : Arindam Bagchi, a spokesman for the Indian External Affairs Ministry, attributed the suspension of visas—which includes those issued in third countries—to safety concerns. The security risks that our high commission and consulates in Canada are dealing with have interfered with their regular operations, Bagchi told reporters. Regarding the claimed threats, he gave no specifics.
India-Canada news : The news soon spread throughout Canada, especially among Canadians with connections to India. Maitreyi Bhatt, a 27-year-old Indian citizen whose Canadian partner requires a visa, was upset because their wedding was set for late October in India, which was also the time he was supposed to meet her family. “I’ve been crying all day,” she admitted. It’s very challenging. Simply put, I couldn’t wait for him to meet my family.
She claimed that the pair had non-refundable flights, and the venue is reserved. She claimed that when her partner tried to visit the Indian Consulate in Toronto, security led them out.
“People like me are just caught up in this and it’s just not fair,” she remarked.
India-Canada news : A 56-year-old Montreal grocery shop owner named Sukhwinder Dhillon claimed he had a trip to India scheduled to visit family and settle his father’s estate. Dhillon, who immigrated to Canada in 1998, travels back home every two to three years. Since his last visit, two family members have passed away.
Dhillon remarked, “My father passed away, and my brother passed away. I want to leave right away. I’m not sure yet when we’ll go.
The spokesman for the Indian foreign ministry, Bagchi, also urged Canada to reduce its diplomatic staff in India because there were more Canadian diplomats from India than vice versa.
India cautioned its citizens on Wednesday to exercise caution when visiting Canada due to “increasing anti-India activities and politically sanctioned hate-crimes.”
Long involved in South Asia, India’s security and intelligence agencies are under investigation for a series of homicides in Pakistan. However, it would be extraordinary to plan the murder of a Canadian citizen in a country where over 2 million people are of Indian heritage.
India has long chastised Canada for allowing Sikh separatists, such as Nijjar, free reign. He was suspected of having ties to terrorism by New Delhi, which he refuted.
India-Canada news : Nijjar was a local leader in the waning Khalistan movement, which sought to establish an independent Sikh country. In the 1970s and 1980s, a brutal Sikh insurgency rocked north India before being put down by a government crackdown that resulted in the deaths of thousands of people, including notable Sikh leaders.
Although the Sikh separatist movement’s active insurgency was put an end decades ago, the Indian government has warned that they are attempting to mount a resurgence and urged nations like Canada, whose Sikhs make up over 2% of the population, to do more to put an end to them.
India-Canada news : The relationship has long been strained by worries in New Delhi over Sikh separatist organizations in Canada. The administration of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Canada’s top diplomat in the nation, the high commissioner in New Delhi, in March to voice its displeasure about Sikh independence demonstrations in Canada.
At the G-20 conference, which India hosted earlier this month, there were indications of a wider diplomatic breach. After having tense exchanges with Modi, Canada abruptly called off its scheduled fall trade mission to India. A trade agreement between the two is currently on hold.
ALSO READ: Relationship Tension Between India And Canada: Will It Hinder Trade?
India-Canada news : Indian authorities revoke Canadians’ visas
An important escalation in the ongoing diplomatic conflict has occurred with India’s decision to stop Canadian citizens’ visa applications. Following Canada’s claim that Indian agents were involved in an assassination on Canadian soil in June, this conflict developed.
The Indian Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman, Arindam Bagchi, described this choice as a reaction to technological and security issues. He said on Thursday that temporary security threats prevented the Canadian consulates and India’s high commission from processing visa requests.
India-Canada news : India disclaims any participation in murder
The assassination of Canadian-Sikh Hardeep Singh Nijjar was rejected by the Indian authorities on Tuesday. Instead, it accused Canada of providing refuge to those with terrorist aspirations who wanted to create a separate Sikh country within Indian territory.
India-Canada news : India publishes a travel warning
The Indian Foreign Ministry expressed concerns about the safety of its diplomats and people on Wednesday and issued a travel warning for Indian persons living in or traveling to Canada. Due to a perceived increase in actions it believed to be “anti-India,” as well as politically sanctioned hate crimes and criminal violence occurring within Canada, the warning advised them to proceed with great caution.
During a news conference in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada’s Minister of Public Safety, Dominic LeBlanc, disregarded the travel advisory for India. Individuals can interpret the advise anyway they see fit, he said. Canada continues to be a secure country, and our main priority is to make sure that these instances are thoroughly investigated criminally.
India-Canada news : The US claims to back Canada’s investigating efforts
On Thursday, the United States declared its support for Canada’s efforts to look into claims that India may have played a part in the Surrey assassination of a Sikh separatist leader. The United States emphasized that no country should be granted a “special exemption” for carrying out such activities.
India-Canada news : A murder occurred
The leader of the illegal Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF), 45-year-old Hardeep Singh Nijjar, was killed on June 18 in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. He was one of the most wanted criminals in India, with a reward of Rs 10 lakh offered for his capture. Outside a gurdwara, he was fatally shot by two unidentified assailants.
Jake Sullivan on the Modi-Biden discussions
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said, “I won’t delve into the confidential diplomatic discussions, whether they have occurred or are set to occur on this matter, regarding the potential communication between US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Modi regarding the Canada-India issue. High-level negotiations about this issue with Indian officials have been maintained and will be continued. We take this issue seriously and tackle it with a great sense of responsibility, promising to keep up the fight.
ALSO READ : Hardeep Singh Nijjar: Sikh Activist, Whose Death Has Caused Animosity Between Canada And India?
