On Monday, the Indian government made the decision to remove its high commissioner from Canada along with other “targeted diplomats and officials.” “…baseless targeting of the Indian High Commissioner and other diplomats and officials in Canada was completely unacceptable,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.
“It was underlined that in an atmosphere of extremism and violence, the Trudeau Government’s actions endangered their safety,” the statement said.
It added, “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.”
- Acting High Commissioner Mr. Stewart Ross Wheeler
- The deputy high commissioner, Mr. Patrick Hebert
- First Secretary Ms. Marie Catherine Joly
- Mr. Lan Ross First Secretary David Trites
- First Secretary Mr. Adam James Chuipka
- First Secretary Ms. Paula Orjuela
The Ministry of External Affairs stated, “They have been requested to depart India by 11:59 PM on Saturday, October 19, 2024, at the latest.”
Following New Delhi’s announcement that it had recalled the officials, Canada also expelled six senior Indian diplomats on Monday, an Ottawa government source told AFP. After authorities discovered proof of persistent violent criminal conduct connected to the Indian government, a top Canadian government official said that Canada was removing six Indian diplomats, including the high commissioner.
Canada’s Top Diplomat Summoned
The Ministry of External Affairs released the statement on Monday evening after it summoned Canadian Charge d’Affaire Stewart Wheeler.
After attending a 20-minute long meeting at the ministry’s headquarters in Delhi, Wheeler said, “Canada has done what India has long been asking for. Canada has provided credible, irrefutable evidence of ties between agents of the government of India and murder of Canadian citizen on Canadian soil.”
“Now, it’s up to India to live up to what it said it would do and look into those allegations. It is in the interest of both our countries and the people of both our countries to get to the bottom of this. Canada stands ready to cooperate…,” Wheeler said.
The ties between India and Canada further took a hit after India said on Monday that it “received a diplomatic communication from Canada”. As per the government, the document suggested that “the Indian High Commissioner and other diplomats are ‘persons of interest’ in a matter related to an investigation in that country.”
The matter pertained to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegations of a “potential” involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistan extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
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Source: Live mint
