2023-09-19 06:18:33
NEW DELHI (AP) — India on Tuesday called allegations of its government’s possible involvement in the murder of a Sikh activist in Canada “absurd” and expelled a top Canadian diplomat from the country.
The move came a day following Canada expelled a senior Indian diplomat while it investigates what its Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, called credible allegations that New Delhi may have been linked to the assassination of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, killed in Shots were fired on June 18 outside a Sikh cultural center in Surrey, British Columbia.
Nijjar was organizing an unofficial referendum in India for an independent Sikh nation. Last year, Indian authorities announced a cash reward for information leading to the arrest of Nijjar, who they accused of involvement in an alleged attack on a Hindu priest in the country.
In a statement, the Indian Foreign Ministry said that “the decision reflects the growing concern of the Government of India over the interference of Canadian diplomats in our internal affairs and their involvement in anti-India activities.”
Both expulsions coincide with a moment of tension in the relationship between both nations. Their trade talks failed and Canada recently canceled a trade mission to the Asian country scheduled for the fall. Protests by Sikh independence groups in Canada have angered the government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The movement for an independent Sikh homeland, known as Khalistan, is banned in India, where authorities consider it a threat to national security. But it has support in the north of the country and in countries like Canada or Great Britain, which host a significant Sikh diaspora.
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