India tells six Canadian diplomats to leave country by Saturday as tensions escalate over Hardeep Nijjar's killing probe
India-Canada tensions: India has directed six Canadian diplomats to leave the country by Saturday, October 19, marking a significant escalation in diplomatic tensions between New Delhi and Ottawa. The move comes in response to Canada’s decision to investigate India's High Commissioner and other diplomats as "persons of interest" in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh separatist leader, in British Columbia last year. The ongoing diplomatic spat has led both nations to order the expulsion of each other’s diplomats, further straining relations.
Earlier in the day, India summoned Canada’s Charge d’Affaires, Stewart Wheeler, and expressed its strong objection to what it termed as “baseless targeting” of Indian diplomats. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) issued a press statement listing the names of the Canadian diplomats who have been asked to leave. These include Stewart Ross Wheeler, Acting High Commissioner; Patrick Hebert, Deputy High Commissioner; Marie Catherine Joly, First Secretary; Ian Ross David Trites, First Secretary; Adam James Chuipka, First Secretary; and Paula Orjuela, First Secretary. They have been given a deadline of 11.59 pm on October 19 to exit India.
In a reciprocal move, Canada has also ordered the departure of six Indian diplomats from Ottawa, claiming that its police have collected evidence suggesting these officials were involved in what it described as a “campaign of violence” orchestrated by the Indian government.
India's decision to expel the Canadian diplomats comes after it strongly dismissed allegations from Ottawa that linked its envoy to the probe into Hardeep Singh Nijjar's murder. New Delhi has termed the accusations against its High Commissioner to Canada, Sanjay Kumar Verma, as “ludicrous.” Verma, a seasoned diplomat with previous postings in Japan and Sudan, has been described by the Indian government as a respected career diplomat whose reputation is beyond reproach.
New Delhi emphasised that the Trudeau administration’s actions have created an unsafe environment for Indian diplomats in Canada, compelling India to withdraw its High Commissioner and other targeted diplomats from the country. The MEA further warned that India reserves the right to take additional measures in response to what it views as Canada’s “support for extremism, violence, and separatism” against India.
- With inputs from agencies
