Toronto — Canada and India have expelled their respective top diplomats amid a growing diplomatic standoff sparked by the murder of prominent Canadian Sikh activist last year. These tit-for-tat expulsions come amid serious allegations from Canada that Indian government agents are involved in the murder and extortion of Canadian citizens on Canadian soil – accusations that India has strongly denied.

On Monday, Canada announced the expulsion of India’s top diplomat in the country, along with five other officials. In response, India reciprocated by expelling six Canadian diplomats, including Canada’s high commissioner in Delhi, Stewart Ross Wheeler, according to a statement from the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

What are Canada and India arguing about?

India and Canada have been plunged into intense conflict since the June 2023 assassination of prominent Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar by masked gunmen outside a Sikh temple in Vancouver.

Justin, Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau told his country’s parliament Last year, officials had “credible” evidence of a link between the Indian government and the killing.

Nijjar, 45, was designated a terrorist by the Indian government because of his support for the Sikh Homeland Movement, which calls for an independent nation for the religious group that makes up less than 2 percent of India’s population.

His murder sparked widespread protests by the Sikh community in Canada and India, many of whom also blamed the Indian government for the assassination.

Canada is home to the largest Sikh diaspora outside the Indian state of Punjab. Nijjar, a member of the so-called pro-Khalistan movement, had organized an informal referendum in Canada to call for an independent Sikh nation within Punjab’s borders before he was killed.

The entire Khalistan statehood movement has been designated a terrorist organization by India, and Nijjar’s name was on the Indian Home Ministry’s watch list before his assassination.

What Canada said

The Canadian government said it took the extraordinary step of expelling India’s top diplomats this week to protect Canadian citizens and reassure those who might believe their security had been compromised.

“Ensuring the security of Canadians is the fundamental task of the Canadian government. The decision to deport these people was made with great consideration and only after the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) had gathered sufficient, clear and concrete evidence that identified six people as persons of interest. in the Nijjar affair,” Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said in a statement on Monday.

The RCMP said its investigation revealed that individuals linked to the Indian government were involved in serious criminal activity, including homicides and extortion.

In addition to Nijjar’s killing, Canadian police said they responded to more than a dozen credible and immediate death threats, leading them to warn members of the South Asian community, including the individuals involved in the pro-Khalistan movement, of the assassination of Nijjar. threats.

“We continue to call on the Indian government to support the ongoing investigation into the Nijjar case, as it is in the interest of both our countries to get to the bottom of this matter,” Joly said.

What India said

India has rejected Canada’s allegations from the start of the conflict more than a year ago.

“The Indian government strongly rejects these absurd imputations and attributes them to the political agenda of the Trudeau government, centered on vote bank politics,” the Indian foreign ministry said in a statement on Monday.

The Indian government has claimed that Canada has “not shared a single piece of evidence” since September 2023, when Trudeau made the first allegations that Indian agents were involved in Nijjar’s killing.

The government in New Delhi has rejected the Canadian investigation into the assassination of the Sikh leader, calling it a “deliberate strategy to defame India for political purposes.”

This week, India expelled Wheeler, along with his deputy and four first secretaries.

“The Trudeau government has consciously provided space for violent extremists and terrorists to harass, threaten and intimidate Indian diplomats and community leaders in Canada,” the Indian foreign ministry said in its statement.

On Monday, the Indian ministry summoned the Canadian charge d’affaires in the country and told him that the “baseless targeting” of Indian diplomats in Canada was “completely unacceptable.”

Arshad Zargar of CBS News reported from New Delhi.