Breaking: Ottawa v Delhi
UPDATE September 22, 2023, 12.47pm NYC
Minutes ago, Canadian PM Justin Pierre James Trudeau holding a Presser in New York (in the middle UN General Assembly).
"We call upon the govt of India to work with us to establish processes to uncover the truth of the matter and to allow justice and accountability to be served. There is a credible reason to believe agencies of the government of India were involved in the killing of a Canadian on Canadian soil. I had a direct and frank conversation with PM Narendra Modi and I shared my view. We stand for rule of law of the international law. We will protect our citizens - we are crystal clear for the safety and protection of its citizens.”
11.11am Delhi / 1.41am Ottawa
Xi Jinping has a painful named Falun Gong. Narenda Modi has a painful named Sikh.
Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly says an Indian Diplomat has been expelled as it investigates into killing of Canadian citizen, Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Then, around 10.40am Delhi or 1.10am Ottawa, India expels Canadian diplomat after Canada expelled Indian diplomat over Nijjar assassination. MEA accuses Canadian "diplomats" of interference in India, indicating more action could follow.
India has rejected as “absurd and motivated” a claim by Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that the Indian government played a role in the killing of a Khalistani separatist in that country in June. The Canadians have also expelled an Indian diplomat, and India has retaliated with a top Canadian diplomat’s expulsion on Tuesday (September 19).
The developments mark a dramatic escalation of tensions between India and Canada that have been marked by frostiness for some months. Prime Minister Justin Pierre James Trudeau had a terse exchange with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during their meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit this month.
What’s going on, and why?
What did Trudeau say on Monday (September 18)?
The Canadian Prime Minister told his country’s Parliament that he had raised the killing of Canadian national Hardeep Singh Nijjar with Prime Minister Modi. Nijjar, head of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara Sahib in Surrey, Canada, was killed on June 18 after being shot by unidentified assailants on the premises of the gurdwara. Nijjar was the chief of the separatist organisation Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF).
Trudeau suggested the killing had the imprint of the Indian government. “Over the past number of weeks Canadian security agencies have been actively pursuing credible allegations of a potential link between agents of the government of India and the killing of a Canadian citizen, Hardeep Singh Nijjar,” he said.
“Any involvement of a foreign government in the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil is an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty,” he said.
Trudeau said Canada had declared its concerns to the Indian government at the G20 Summit, and “I continue to ask with a great deal of firmness that the government of India co-operate with Canada to shed light on this situation.”