Canada says remaining Indian diplomats ‘warned’ despite Trudeau’s ‘no hard evidence’ admission

Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said Friday that remaining Indian diplomats in the country were “clearly advised” not to harm the lives of Canadians as the standoff between the two nations erupted after allegations of Indian link in assassination of Khalistan terrorist.

Diplomatic tensions flared earlier this week after Canada expelled India’s high commissioner and five other diplomats, accusing them of being “persons of interest” linked to the investigation into the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. In a retaliatory action, India recalled its top envoy to Ottawa and expelled six Canadian diplomats.

“We have never seen this in our history. This level of transnational repression cannot occur on Canadian soil. We have seen it elsewhere in Europe. Russia did it to Germany and the United Kingdom and we had to stand firm on this issue,” Joly said in Montreal.

Asked if other Indian diplomats would be expelled, Joly said: “They are clearly on notice. Six of them were expelled, including the high commissioner in Ottawa. Others came mainly from Toronto and Vancouver and it is clear that we will not tolerate any diplomat who contravenes the Vienna Convention.

Canada has ‘no hard evidence’ against India

Canada’s foreign minister, comparing India to Russia, said Canadian national police have linked Indian diplomats to killings, death threats and intimidation in Canada. However, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently admitted that the country had provided “no hard evidence” of the allegations against India.

“And at that point it was mostly intelligence, not hard evidence,” Trudeau said, referring to allegations he made against India linking “Indian agents” to Nijjar’s killing in front of a gurdwara in Surrey, Canada.

This came after the Royal Canadian Mounted Police this week publicized allegations that Indian diplomats were targeting Sikh separatists in Canada by sharing information about them with their national government.

Denouncing the notorious Bishnoi criminal gang, the RCMP said senior Indian officials passed information about Sikh separatists to Indian organized crime groups who targeted the militants.

“Cavalier behavior”: India responds to Canada

In response to Trudeau’s admission that he had no “solid evidence” and only had intelligence about the allegations against India, the Foreign Ministry said it was only “confirming” New Delhi’s consistent position that Canada “has not presented us with any evidence.”

The ministry added: “Responsibility for the damage caused by this cavalier behavior to India-Canada relations lies solely with Prime Minister Trudeau. »

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, in response to media questions regarding Justin Trudeau’s testimony, said: “What we heard today only confirms what we have always said: Canada does not has presented us with no evidence to support the serious allegations that he chose to attack India and Indian diplomats.

India has denied the allegations, calling them “absurd and baseless”, and has repeatedly criticized the Trudeau government for being soft on supporters of the Khalistan movement living in Canada.