NEW DELHI — On Monday, India announced that it would be withdrawing its ambassador and several diplomats from Canada, shortly after rejecting a Canadian advisory labeling the ambassador as a “person of interest” in the murder of a Sikh activist that occurred last year.
India’s foreign ministry released a statement emphasizing that they had summoned the leading Canadian diplomat in New Delhi. During this meeting, India condemned what it termed the “baseless targeting” of its high commissioner and other diplomats and officials in Canada as “completely unacceptable.”
The statement further expressed a lack of confidence in the current Canadian Government’s ability to ensure the safety of Indian diplomats. As a result, India has made the decision to recall the High Commissioner along with any other diplomats and officials who feel they are being targeted.
The backdrop to this diplomatic conflict traces back to September of the previous year when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau asserted that there were credible allegations implicating the Indian government in the assassination of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar within Canada. India strongly dismissed these allegations, dismissing them as absurd and unfounded.