India Canada News LIVE Updates: Hours after recalling the High Commissioner and other diplomates from Canada, India expelled six Canadian envoys. These diplomates have been asked to leave India by or before 11:59 PM on Saturday, October 19. The already frosty ties between India and Canada plunged further after the Justin Trudeau government attempted to link the Indian High Commissioner to a probe into Khalistani sympathiser Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s killing.
The six Canadian diplomates suspended by India are – Acting High Commissioner Stewart Ross Wheeler, 2. Deputy High Commissioner Patrick Hebert, First Secretary Marie Catherine Joly, First Secretary Ross David Trites, First Secretary Adam James Chuipka and First Secretary Paula Orjuela.
What led to tensions between India And Canada: Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, whose killing led to a row between India and Canada, was a declared terrorist in India and wanted in several cases. Nijjar (45) was the chief of the Khalistan Tiger Force and was a close associate of Gurdeep Singh alias Deepa Heranwala, who was involved in the killing of around 200 people in Punjab during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Nijjar was attacked by unidentified assailants on June 18, 2023, near the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, Vancouver. As per Khalistan Extremism Monitor, he was a native of Harsighpur in the Jalandhar district of Punjab. Nijjar reportedly worked as a plumber before being elected unopposed to head the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurudwara in Surrey, Canada.
Trudeau Discusses India-Canada Row With Five Eyes Allies
Justin Trudeau said Canada has shared with its Five Eyes partners, the United Stated and the United Kingdom in particular, all information they have related to the allegations of the involvement of Indian officials in the killing of a Canadian national last year. “Today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer, discussed recent developments related to a targeted campaign against Canadian citizens by agents linked to the government of India,” a statement released by Canadian PM’s office said.
Amid Diplomatic Row, Trudeau Calls India ‘Important Democracy’ – WATCH
“First of all, let’s highlight that none of us want to be in this situation. This is not a choice that Canada made to create a chill in Canada-India relations. India is an important democracy, is a country with which we have deep historical people to people business ties. At a time where instability around geopolitics mean democracies have to stick together,” said Canadian PM Justin Trudeau amid the ongoing diplomatic row between India and Canada.
