Frosty relations between Ottawa and New Delhi froze on Monday, when both countries also declared that a total of six diplomats from each side were considered personae non gratae – undesirable – and must leave the countries immediately.
The reason is the criminal investigation into the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar last June, which entered a new phase with suspicions that the Indian envoy may have been involved in the murder. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has previously said there are “credible allegations” that Indian intelligence was involved in the crime.
The targeted suspicions drew Indian ire, and it preceded the decision to expel the diplomat by using one of the sharpest diplomatic weapons available: recalling its envoy.
“No Trust”
“We have no confidence in the current Canadian government’s promise to ensure (diplomats’) safety,” writes India’s Ministry of External Affairs.
In addition, India chose late Monday to declare six Canadian diplomats as personae non gratae – undesirable – and that they must leave the country this week.
At the same time, word came from Ottawa that six Indian diplomats stationed in Canada are no longer welcome in the country, according to a senior Canadian diplomatic source.
Sikh leaders in exile
Sikh leader Nijjar moved to Canada in 1997 and became a citizen there in 2015. Nijjar advocated an independent Sikh state in India, which accused him of, among other things, terrorism.
Four people, all Indian nationals, have previously been arrested for the murder, which was carried out in a parking lot outside a Sikh shrine in Vancouver.