India Expels Six Canadian Diplomats Amid Crisis, Recalls High Commissioner From Ottawa

India expels Canadian diplomats crisis

India Expels Six Canadian Diplomats Amid Crisis: India to recall High Commissioner from Canada after links him to Probe; expels 6 Canadian diplomats. Here’s the statement from the external affairs ministry on Monday evening.

India will withdraw its High Commissioner from Canada after Canada linked him and other Indian diplomats to an investigation where they are ‘persons of interest’.

India also expelled 6 Canadian diplomats and asked them to leave India by October 19, 2024.

MEA summoned the Canadian envoy today after it received diplomatic communication from Canada yesterday saying that the Indian High Commissioner and other diplomats are ‘persons of interest’ in a case in Canada.

Stewart Wheeler, the Canadian chargé d’affaires to India, was present in place of Cameron MacKay, the High Commissioner for Canada in India, as the latter is not in the country. Wheeler is among those who have been asked to leave.

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Patrick Hebert (deputy high commissioner), Marie Catherine Joly (first secretary), lan Ross David Trites (first secretary), Adam James Chuipka (first secretary) and Paula Orjuela (first secretary) were the other diplomats who have been expelled.

The withdrawal of the High Commissioner and other diplomats means a big downgrade in relations with Canada.

“We don’t trust the current Canadian Government to ensure their safety,” the MEA told Canadian Charge d’Affaires Stephen Wheeler who was summoned by the ministry. Cameron MacKay, the High Commissioner for Canada in India was summoned but he is not in the country.

“It was underlined that in an atmosphere of extremism and violence, the Trudeau Government’s actions endangered their safety. 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,” the statement by the MEA said.

“The Canadian Charge d’Affaires was summoned by Secretary (East) this evening. He was informed that the baseless targeting of the Indian High Commissioner and other diplomats and officials in Canada was completely unacceptable,” the statement released by the MEA said.

The MEA also told Wheeler that “India will take further action if Trudeau Government continues to support extremism, violence and separatism against India”.

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Canadian officials were told that their behaviour is not conducive to a diplomatic solution, sources said. They also said Canada is ‘pressuring on behalf of terrorists’ without any evidence.

Canadian media reports that Canada has asked 6 diplomats to leave. They also said a notice was sent to Indian envoy to Canada Sanjay Kumar Verma.

RCMP held a press conference where they said Indian diplomats have been asked to leave.

They said ‘evidence was presented’ to India and that the RCMP will ‘not tolerate any harassment or violence to Canadian citizens’. The RCMP also blamed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi and his syndicate for targeting pro-Khalistani elements in Canada.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police RCMP did not provide any details or examples of Indian diplomats involved.

“There are links tying Indian agents to homicides in India. Indian diplomats in Canada use their positions to conduct clandestine activities and collect information for India,” they said in a press conference.

Canadian foreign minister Mélanie Joly later said in a statement that the diplomats were expelled after RCMP ‘gathered enough, clear and concrete evidence’.

“The South Asian-Canadian community is the target,” RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme claimed.

“The decision to expel these individuals was made with great consideration and only after the RCMP gathered ample, clear and concrete evidence which identified six individuals as persons of interest in the Nijjar case. We continue to ask that the Indian government support the ongoing investigation in the Nijjar case,” Joly said.

India-Canada relations had deteriorated after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in September last year accused Indian agents of being involved in the killing of Nijjar.

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