Canada is unlikely to exploit evidence gathered through intelligence sources, such as telephone intercepts or even a possible wiretapping of the Indian High Commission, to implicate Indian diplomats. It is doubtful whether such evidence would be acceptable to the court.

The evidence will focus on those arrested, based on their surveillance and identification over the past year, as well as their role in the plots as drivers, shooters and observers. The interrogations may have revealed evidence of conspiracy and details of a larger network.

Links to the High Commission or our intelligence agencies could emerge, as has been the case in the case of the United States. In the latter case, the Indian government appears to have released alleged Indian agent Vikash Yadav. Whether or not he will be extradited to the United States to face the charges remains to be seen.

Given the torrent of angry comments and accusations being thrown around and the deep divide between India and Canada, this may not be easy. There is also unlikely to be a turnaround in India-Canada relations as long as Trudeau leads Canada’s government. The elections are a year away and there is every chance that voters will show him the door.

Hopes for a diplomatic turnaround, which will require some backtracking from both sides, will depend on the next government, which could only take office by the end of 2025.

But that has not stopped the United States, Israel or Russia, for example, from dealing with those who threaten them abroad. India has long suffered from the threat of terrorism and is literally drawing its red lines.

The arrest of Vikash Yadav shows that India may need to reflect on how these elements manage to be recruited into intelligence services and the tactics New Delhi is adopting to combat the menace in third countries .

(The author is a distinguished fellow of the Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi. This is an opinion piece and the views expressed above are those of the author. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for them.)