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☆ Canada charges three Indian nationals for assassination of Sikh separatist
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Tara John | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The suspects were identified in court filings as Karanpreet Singh, Kamalpreet Singh, and Karan Brar. The men are accused of conspiring “with others to commit the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar,” according to the filings. Authorities are currently investigating if they have ties to the Indian government – the latest development in a long-running intrigue that has fueled diplomatic tension between Canada and India. Nijjar, a Canadian citizen, was gunned down by masked men last June outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, British Columbia. Officials speak at a press briefing on Friday, May 3, regarding arrests made in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

Persons: Justin Trudeau, Karanpreet Singh, Kamalpreet Singh, Karan Brar, “, Hardeep Singh, …, Trudeau, Nijjar, David Teboul, Gurpatwant Singh, Nikhil Gupta, Pannun, Gupta, ” Gupta, Pritpal Singh, ” Organizations: CNN, Canadian, Authorities, Government of, ” Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Indian, American Sikh Caucus Committee, FBI Locations: Canada, New Delhi, India, Canadian, Surrey, British Columbia, India’s Punjab, Government of India, United States, American

CNN —The home of a Canadian Sikh activist in Brampton, Ontario, was hit by gunfire on Monday, months after the assassination of another activist sent India-Canada relations into a spiral. “It appears that only one bullet hole was found but that is subject to change,” Peel Regional Police wrote in a statement. The bullet hole in Gosal's home in Brampton, Ontario. The Canadian citizen was gunned down by masked men last June outside a Sikh temple in British Colombia. Weeks later, the United States accused an Indian government official of being involved in a conspiracy to kill another Sikh separatist, American citizen Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, on US soil.

Persons: Inderjit Singh, Gosal, Singh, Justin Trudeau, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Weeks, Gurpatwant Singh, Pannun, Nikhil Gupta, Gupta, Nijjar, “ Organizations: CNN, Justice, Peel Regional Police, Indian Consulate Toronto, Canadian, Indian, Global Affairs Canada Locations: Brampton , Ontario, India, Canada, India’s Punjab, British Colombia, United States, Ontario, Punjab

[1/3] File photo: The flags of the United States and India are displayed on the Eisenhower Executive Office Building at the White House in Washington, U.S., June 21, 2023. Last week, the U.S. Justice Department alleged that an Indian government official directed an unsuccessful plot to assassinate a Sikh separatist on U.S. soil, while it announced charges against a man accused of orchestrating the attempted murder. U.S. officials have named the target of the attempted murder as Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a Sikh separatist and dual citizen of the United States and Canada. The Indian government has long complained about the presence of Sikh separatist groups outside India. They also discussed developments in the Middle East, including the Israel-Hamas war, plans for a post-war Gaza and recent attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea, the White House said on Monday.

Persons: Elizabeth Frantz, Jon, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Joe Biden, Jake Sullivan, Bill Burns, Antony Blinken, Biden, Ajit Doval, Kanishka Singh, Leslie Adler, Lincoln Organizations: Eisenhower, White, REUTERS, Rights, White House, U.S . Justice Department, Indian, U.S, National, Thomson Locations: United States, India, Washington , U.S, U.S, New Delhi, Canada, Vancouver, China, Israel, Gaza, Red, Washington

☆ Alleged Plot to Kill Sikh Separatist Highlights Thorn in India’s Side
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Sameer Yasir | More About Sameer Yasir | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The federal indictment this week of an Indian citizen in an alleged murder-for-hire scheme targeting a Sikh separatist in New York threatens to damage ties between the United States and India just as the Biden administration has been courting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. The charges are rooted in a decades-old dispute: the demand by some Sikhs for a sovereign state known as Khalistan carved out of northern India, which the Modi government opposes. In addition to directing the unsuccessful plot in New York, the federal indictment said, an Indian government official organized the killing of a Sikh separatist in Canada who was shot in June by masked gunmen outside a temple in Vancouver. The idea of Khalistan is rooted in Sikhism, a religion with 26 million followers around the world, of which about 23 million live in the state of Punjab in northern India. Sikhs make up less than 2 percent of India’s population of 1.4 billion.

Persons: Biden, Narendra Modi’s, Modi Locations: New York, United States, India, Canada, Vancouver, Punjab

☆ Indian gov't official directed Sikh separatist's assassination plot in US, DOJ says
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Luc Cohen | Thomson Reuters | Reports On The New York Federal Courts. Previously Worked As A Correspondent In Venezuela | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

NEW YORK, Nov 29 (Reuters) - An Indian government official directed an unsuccessful plot to assassinate a Sikh separatist on U.S. soil, the U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday, in announcing charges against a man accused of orchestrating the attempted murder. Prosecutors did not name the Indian official or the target. According to prosecutors, the official recruited Gupta in May 2023 to orchestrate the assassination. The Indian government has complained about the presence of Sikh separatist groups outside India, including in Canada and the United States. The groups have kept alive the movement for Khalistan, or the demand for an independent Sikh state to be carved out of India.

Persons: Nikhil Gupta, Gupta, Damian Williams, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Nijjar, Luc Cohen, Doina Chiacu, Susan Heavey, Chizu Nomiyama, Mark Porter, Daniel Wallis Organizations: Indian, U.S . Justice, New York City, Prosecutors, Biden, Administration, Air, Air India Boeing, Thomson Locations: U.S, Manhattan, New York, India, Czech, New York City, Washington, United States, New Delhi, Canada, India's Punjab, Vancouver, Air India

The flags of the United States and India are displayed on the Eisenhower Executive Office Building at the White House in Washington, U.S., June 21, 2023. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz Acquire Licensing RightsNEW DELHI, Nov 29 (Reuters) - India will formally investigate security concerns aired by the United States in a warning to New Delhi about its links to a foiled plot to murder a Sikh separatist leader, the foreign ministry said on Wednesday. The Financial Times newspaper on Nov. 22 first reported the thwarted plot against Pannun in the United States. The White House said it was treating the issue with "utmost seriousness" and had raised it with India at the "seniormost levels". The foiled plot and the U.S. concerns were reported two months after Canada said it was looking at credible allegations linking Indian agents to the June murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, another Sikh separatist, in a Vancouver suburb.

Persons: Elizabeth Frantz, Biden, Gurpatwant Singh, Pannun, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Narendra Modi's, Antony Blinken, Lloyd Austin, Sanjay Verma, India’s, Verma, Krishn Kaushik, Shivam Patel, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: Eisenhower, White, REUTERS, White House, Financial Times, U.S, Indian, Reuters, Defence, CTV, Thomson Locations: United States, India, Washington , U.S, DELHI, New Delhi, China, Delhi, U.S, Canada, Vancouver, . New Delhi, Canadian, Ottawa

CNN —US federal prosecutors have charged an Indian national in an alleged murder-for-hire plot to try to assassinate a Sikh political activist in New York City, according to an indictment unsealed Wednesday. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar was murdered in Canada in June, and the Canadian government said it had credible information linking India to the murder. People stomp on an Indian flag and a cutout of Indian prime minister Narendra Modi during a Sikh rally outside the Indian consulate in Toronto to raise awareness for the Indian government's alleged involvement in the killing of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia on September 25, 2023. Cole Burston/AFP/Getty ImagesNijjar and Pannun were associates, US prosecutors say, as they were both leaders of the Sikh separatist movement. The Indian official gave Gupta Pannun’s home address, phone numbers and details on his daily activities, prosecutors allege.

Persons: Nikhil Gupta, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, Gupta, “, ” Pannun, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Narendra Modi, Cole Burston, Pannun, Nijjar, Nijjar “, – Organizations: CNN, Justice, Indian, Getty Locations: New York City, New York, India, Czech Republic, Canada, Toronto, British Columbia, AFP

Prosecutors did not name the Indian official or the target, although they did describe the latter as a U.S. citizen of Indian origin. The Indian official is described in the related indictment as a "senior field officer" with responsibilities in "security management" and "intelligence" employed by the Indian government who "directed the plot from India." It was a "matter of concern" that an Indian government official was linked to the plot, foreign ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on Thursday, adding, "This is also contrary to government policy." 'WE HAVE SO MANY TARGETS'According to U.S. prosecutors, the Indian official recruited Gupta in May 2023 to orchestrate the assassination. The groups have kept alive the movement for Khalistan, or the demand for an independent Sikh state to be carved out of India.

Persons: Nikhil Gupta, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, Gupta, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Damian Williams, Biden, Bill Burns, Narendra Modi, Jake Sullivan, Antony Blinken, National Intelligence Avril Haines, Arindam Bagchi, Bagchi, Adrienne Watson, credibly, Pannun, Nijjar, Luc Cohen, Krishn Kaushik, Shivam Patel, Jeff Mason, David Brunnstrom, Heather Timmons, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: U.S . Department of Justice, Indian, U.S . Justice, New, New York City, Prosecutors, Biden, National, National Intelligence, White House National Security Council, Reuters, Administration, Air, Air India Boeing, Thomson Locations: Manhattan, New York City, U.S, New York, India, United States, Canada, Czech, Vancouver, New Delhi, China, Air India, Washington

REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON/NEW DELHI, Nov 22 (Reuters) - The United States is treating a reported plot to kill a Sikh separatist on American soil with utmost seriousness and has raised the issue with the Indian government "at the senior-most levels," the White House said on Wednesday. The Financial Times reported, citing unnamed sources, that U.S. authorities thwarted a plot to kill a Sikh separatist in the United States and issued a warning to India over concerns the government in New Delhi was involved. It stated he threatened in video messages to not let Air India operate anywhere in the world. The case comes against the historical backdrop of a bombing in 1985 of an Air India aircraft flying from Canada to India that killed 329, and for which Sikh militants were blamed. Pannun told Reuters on Tuesday that his message was to "boycott Air India not bomb."

Persons: Joe Biden, Narendra Modi, Evelyn Hockstein, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Pannun, Adrienne Watson, Biden, Arindam Bagchi, Bagchi, Hardeep Singh, Shivam Patel, Krishn Kaushik, Jeff Mason, David Brunnstrom, Andrew Goudsward, Andrew Heavens, Alex Richardson, Alistair Bell Organizations: India's, White, REUTERS, WASHINGTON, Financial Times, Air India, Indian, Washington, FBI, U.S . Justice, India's National Investigation Agency, Sikh, Reuters, Air, Justice, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, DELHI, United States, India, New Delhi, Canada, Vancouver, U.S, New York, Air India

☆ U.S. thwarts plot to kill Sikh separatist, issues warning to India - FT
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNEW DELHI, Nov 22 (Reuters) - U.S. authorities thwarted a plot to kill a Sikh separatist in the United States and issued a warning to India over concerns the government in New Delhi was involved, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday, citing unnamed sources. The Financial Times said that the sources did not say if the protest to India resulted in the plot being abandoned by the plotters, or if it was foiled by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Apart from the diplomatic warning to India, U.S. federal prosecutors have also filed a sealed indictment against at least one suspect in a New York district court, the FT report said. Pannun, like Nijjar, is a proponent of a decades-long, but now a fringe demand to carve out an independent Sikh homeland from India named Khalistan. The Financial Times report mentioned that the U.S. shared details of the thwarted plot with a wider group of allies after Canada's public accusation.

Persons: Joe Biden, Narendra Modi, Evelyn Hockstein, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, Pannun, Shivam Patel, Krishn Kaushik, Andrew Heavens, Alex Richardson Organizations: India's, White, REUTERS, Financial Times, U.S, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Indian, Khalistan, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, DELHI, United States, India, New Delhi, Canada, Vancouver suburb, U.S, New York, Canadian

Ajay Bisaria, India's ambassador to Canada from 2020 to 2022, said the relationship is in a "de-escalation phase" following "quiet diplomacy". "This is not a thaw," an Indian foreign ministry official told Reuters. 'MODEST DE-ESCALATION'Officials in India and Canada spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorised to speak on the subject. The Indian foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment. Canada's foreign ministry pointed to comments made by Foreign Minister Melanie Jolie on Oct. 30.

Persons: Narendra Modi, Justin Trudeau, Evan Vucci, Michael Kugelman, Ajay Bisaria, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, India's, Ottawa’s, Melanie Jolie, Jolie, Modi, Kugelman, Michael Bociurkiw, Krishn Kaushik, Steve Scherer, YP Rajesh, William Mallard Organizations: Indian, Canada, Bharat, DELHI, Mutual, South Asia Institute, Wilson Center, Reuters, Canadian, Foreign, Atlantic Council, YP, Thomson Locations: New Delhi, India, Canada, OTTAWA, Punjab, Delhi, Ottawa, Washington, China, Vancouver, Hardeep, Vienna

☆ Canada removes 41 diplomats from India as dispute over Sikh activist’s assassination deepens
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Paula Newton | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Ottawa CNN —Canada has withdrawn 41 diplomats and their families from India after New Delhi threatened to revoke their diplomatic immunity amid a deepening dispute over the assassination of a Sikh activist. Given the implications of India’s actions on the safety of our diplomats, we have facilitated their safe departure from India,” Joly told a press conference in Ottawa. Joly said those diplomats and their families had already left India while 21 Canadian diplomats remained in the country. Joly added the Canadian government would not retaliate in kind, saying that to do so would be a violation of international law. Nijjar was an outspoken supporter of the creation of a separate Sikh homeland that would include parts of India and be known as Khalistan.

Persons: Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Justin Trudeau, Mélanie Joly, India’s, ” Joly, Joly, “, Hardeep Singh, Nijjar, ” Nijjar’s Organizations: Ottawa CNN —, Canadian Foreign Affairs, Sikh Organization of Canada, India’s, Indian National Investigation Agency, Khalistan Locations: Ottawa CNN — Canada, India, New Delhi, British Columbia, Canada, Ottawa

☆ Why is India's Modi so worried about Sikh separatist calls for Khalistan?
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Amplified calls for the creation of Khalistan date back to when India gained its independence in 1947. At the same time, some Sikh supporters of Khalistan have made comments perceived as anti-national and threatening toward India and its government. And in counterinsurgency operations, Indian security forces were accused of a multitude of human rights abuses. The first photos of the damaged Akal Takhat after the army stormed the sikh Golden Temple complex in Amritsar on June 9, 1984. “The larger [Sikh] community is standing by the statements from Trudeau and they want action upon this,” said Jasveer Singh, a British Sikh and senior press officer with the Sikh Press Association.

Persons: Justin Trudeau’s, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, “, Nijjar’s, –, Andre Durand, Guru Nanak, hasn’t, ”, Amandeep Sandhu, Amritpal Singh, India’s, Singh, Stringer, Modi, Suhasini Haidar, Sondeep Shankar, Indira Gandhi, Gandhi, Harsh Pant, Cole Burston, Pant, Nijjar, Justin Trudeau, Blair Gable, Trudeau, Jasveer Singh Organizations: CNN, Air India, Sikh, Canadian, Air, Air India Boeing, Getty, India, British, Keystone, Pew Research Center, Panjab, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Police, Khalistan, Observer Research Foundation, Protesters, Reuters, Sikh Press Association Locations: Montreal, New Delhi, Ireland, Indian, Punjab, Canada, Hardeep, India, Air India, Cork, AFP, Pakistan, Amritsar, British India, Ottawa, “ India, United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Toronto, British

The Indian government has complained about the presence of Sikh separatist groups outside India, especially in Canada. The groups have kept alive the movement for Khalistan, or the demand for an independent Sikh state to be carved out of India. One such group called Sikhs for Justice is based in the United States and has been organizing an unofficial so-called "Khalistan Referendum". The demand for an independent Sikh state surfaced most prominently in India during a violent insurgency in the 1980s and 1990s and paralyzed the state of Punjab. Canada last month alleged that India may have been involved in the killing of Canadian citizen and Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, whom New Delhi labeled as a "terrorist".

Persons: Erin Scott, we're, Indira Gandhi, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Simon Lewis, Kanishka Singh, Gareth Jones Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, State Department, Justice, U.S . State Department, Air, Air India Boeing, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, United States, India, Canada, U.S, Punjab, Air India, New Delhi, Washington

☆ US, Asked About Sikh Separatist Groups, Says It Respects Free Speech
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-03 | by ( Oct. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

Persons: Simon Lewis, Kanishka Singh WASHINGTON, we're, Indira Gandhi, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Kanishka Singh, Gareth Jones Organizations: State Department, Justice, U.S . State Department, Air, Air India Boeing Locations: United States, India, Canada, U.S, Punjab, Air India, New Delhi, Washington

BAY ISMOYO/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said on Friday there was a "climate of violence" and an "atmosphere of intimidation" against Indian diplomats in Canada, where the presence of Sikh separatist groups has frustrated New Delhi. "Because there is freedom of speech, to make threats and intimidate diplomats, I don't think that's acceptable," Jaishankar told reporters on Friday evening in Washington. Canada is home to an influential Sikh community, and Indian leaders say some fringe groups there remain sympathetic to the cause of an independent Sikh state. The insurgency killed tens of thousands of people and the Khalistan movement is considered a security threat by the Indian government. Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated in 1984 by two Sikh bodyguards after she allowed the storming of the holiest Sikh temple, aimed at flushing out Sikh separatists.

Persons: Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Jaishankar, Justin Trudeau, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Trudeau, Indira Gandhi, Kanishka Singh, Leslie Adler Organizations: India's, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN, India, ASEAN Foreign Ministers, Rights, Indian, Washington . Relations, Canadian, Air, Air India Boeing, Thomson Locations: Jakarta, Canada, New Delhi, Washington, India, Punjab, Air India

☆ Canada's Sikhs are grateful - and afraid - after Trudeau's India allegations
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-30 | by ( Steve Scherer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

India forcefully denied its involvement in Nijjar's murder, which took place in the parking lot of a Sikh temple in Surrey, BC. But Canadian Sikhs are unconvinced, and the minority who are active proponents of Khalistan are afraid. Trudeau's move risks derailing a strategic economic and political shift many Western countries are making towards India to counter China. Mukhbir Singh, a member of the Ottawa Sikh Society, said he backs the idea of Khalistan, but that Canadian Sikhs' views on the issue are not monolithic. "Prime Minister Trudeau has taken a stance" to make "paramount" the safety of its citizens, he said, even though the Canadian government does not support Khalistan.

Persons: Nanak, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Chris Helgren, Justin Trudeau, Sentokh Singh, Trudeau's, Jagmeet Singh, Fen Hampson, Nijjar's, Gurmeet Singh, Mukhbir Singh, Trudeau, Suk Dhaliwal, Dhaliwal, Steve Scherer, Wa, Denny Thomas, Daniel Wallis Organizations: REUTERS, OTTAWA, Khalistan, Indian High Commission, New Democrats, Carleton University, RCMP, Ottawa Sikh Society, Liberal, Surrey, Reuters, Wa Lone, Thomson Locations: Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, Punjab India, India, New Delhi, Canadian, Ottawa, China, Punjab, Golden, Amritsar, Toronto

☆ India raids 53 sites nationwide as crackdown on Sikh separatists deepens
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Rhea Mogul | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —India’s anti-terror agency has raided 53 sites across seven states and union territories in a crackdown on what it says are “terrorists” and “gangsters,” some of whom it alleges have links to Sikh separatist groups. “Khalistan” is a reference to a separatist movement that seeks to create a homeland for Sikhs in the Punjab region of India. The NIA said Wednesday the latest raids “relate to conspiracies of targeted killings, terror funding of pro-Khalistan outfits, extortion, etc. “These criminals have been engaged in planning and commissioning serious crimes, including contract and revenge killings, in association with criminals lodged in jails across India,” it added. Things escalated further when India suspended visa services for Canadian citizens over what it said were “security threats” against diplomats in Canada.

Persons: ”, Justin Trudeau, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Trudeau’s, Modi Organizations: CNN, National Investigative Agency, Khalistan, Canadian, Sikh, NIA Locations: Punjab, India, Canada, British Columbia, Sikh Canadian, Pakistan, Malaysia, Portugal, Australia, Harayana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Chandigarh . New Delhi

Blinken met with Jaishankar at the State Department on Thursday afternoon. A State Department spokesperson said that in the meeting Blinken had urged India to cooperate "fully" with the ongoing Canadian investigation. Ties between Indian and Canada have become seriously strained after Trudeau told parliament this month that Canada suspected Indian government agents were linked to the murder. Jaishankar said on Tuesday New Delhi had told Canada it was open to looking into any "specific" or "relevant" information it provides on the killing. The U.S. ambassador to Canada told Canadian television that some information on the case had been gathered by the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, which groups the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Britain.

Persons: Antony Blinken, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Leah Millis, Jake Sullivan, Hardeep Singh, Blinken, Jaishankar, Trudeau, Nijjar, Sullivan, Washington, Humeyra Pamuk, David Brunnstrom, Doina Chiacu, Caitlin Webber, Daniel Wallis, Don Durfee Organizations: State Department, REUTERS, Rights, India's, U.S . National, Department, New, The, Canadian, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, Canada, India, United States, Washington, Blinken, U.S, Quebec, Canadian, New Delhi, The U.S, Australia, New Zealand, Britain

☆ U.S. readout excludes India-Canada rift as Blinken meets India's top diplomat
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Clement Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrive for a photo spray and brief remarks at the U.S. State Department September 28, 2023 in Washington, DC. Drew Angerer | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesU.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met India's foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in Washington on Thursday, but the U.S. readout did not mention the spiraling dispute between India and Canada. Trudeau went public with "credible allegations" on Sept. 18, accusing the Indian government of orchestrating the murder. The deepening rift between the two sides is concerning Canada's closest allies — Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. If allegations are true, this may well derail the U.S. courtship of India as a partner in a broader Indo-Pacific strategy aimed at countering China.

Persons: Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Antony Blinken, Drew Angerer, Justin Trudeau, Trudeau, Blinken, Trudeau's, Hardeep Singh Nijjar Organizations: Affairs, U.S . State, Getty, Canadian, U.S, Ottawa Locations: Washington ,, Washington, U.S, India, Canada, New Delhi, Canadian, Australia, United Kingdom, United States, China

☆ Sikh group protests outside Golden Temple over killing in Canada
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-29 | by ( Manoj Kumar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/3] A sign outside the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara temple is seen after the killing on its grounds in June 2023 of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada September 18, 2023. REUTERS/Chris Helgren/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNEW DELHI, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Hundreds of Sikh activists on Friday staged a demonstration outside the Golden Temple in Amritsar, in the northern Indian state of Punjab, demanding punishment for the killers of a Sikh separatist in Canada. Earlier this month, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told parliament that there may be a link between New Delhi and the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June in British Columbia. Holding posters of Nijjar, the protesters outside the holiest of Sikh shrines shouted slogans asking New Delhi to stop extrajudicial operations against separatists seeking Punjab as an independent state. Nijjar, who worked as a plumber, left the north Indian state of Punjab a quarter-century ago and became a Canadian citizen.

Persons: Nanak, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Chris Helgren, Justin Trudeau, Paramjit Singh Mand, Dal, Kanwar Pal, Sunil Kataria, Mayank Bhardwaj, Alison Williams Organizations: REUTERS, Canadian, Dal Khalsa, Thomson Locations: Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, DELHI, Golden, Amritsar, Punjab, New Delhi, India, Canadian, Sikh

CNN —An Indian minister has accused Canada of giving “operating space” to terrorists and extremists, as he rejected claims by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that the Indian government may have played a role in the assassination of a Sikh separatist on Canadian soil. “The Canadian (prime minister) made some allegations initially privately, and then publicly. He said the Indian government had long accused Canada of inaction in dealing with Sikh separatist extremism aimed at creating a separate Sikh homeland. He said India believes Canada has a “very permissive Canadian attitude towards terrorists, extremist people who openly advocate violence.”Those individuals “have been given operating space in Canada because of the compulsions of Canadian politics,” Jaishankar added. And that has actually compelled me to temporarily suspend even visa operations in Canada,” the minister added.

Persons: Justin Trudeau, ”, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, “, Trudeau, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Trudeau’s, Jaishankar, ” Jaishankar, Antony Blinken, Blinken, Nijjar, Gina Raimondo, Katherine Tai, Alicia Barcena, Raquel Buenrostro, Jake Sullivan, I’m Organizations: CNN, Hudson Institute, India’s, Indian National Investigation Agency, State Department, US, US National, Canadian Locations: Washington, India, India’s Punjab, Canada, Britain , New Zealand, Australia, Mexican

☆ Punjab's Sikhs fear Canada-India row threatens them at home, abroad
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Manoj Kumar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Outside of Punjab, the greatest number of Sikhs live in Canada, the site of many protests that have irked India. Still, though, the elder Nijjar said he is worried about deteriorating diplomatic relations with Canada and declining economic prospects in Punjab. The once-prosperous breadbasket of India, Punjab has been overtaken by states that focussed on manufacturing, services and technology in the last two decades. Modi's government has created "an atmosphere of fear", especially for young people, said Sandeep Singh, 31, from Nijjar's village. At the same time, the party says no one has done as much for the Sikhs as Modi.

Persons: Himmat Singh Nijjar, Hardeep Singh, Adnan Abidi, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Justin Trudeau, Trudeau, Narendra Modi's, Nijjar, Gursimran Singh, Indira Gandhi, Modi's, Modi, Sandeep Singh, wouldn’t, Kanwar Pal, Manoj Kumar, YP Rajesh, William Mallard Organizations: Reuters, REUTERS, Canadian, Ottawa, DREAM, CANADA, Hindu, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Dal Khalsa, YP, Thomson Locations: Jalandhar district, Punjab, India, Canada, North America, Canadian, Vancouver, Bharsinghpura, Amritsar, Nijjar's

☆ Canadian Sikh protests outside Indian mission off to a muted start
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Wa Lone | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Trudeau said last week Canada was pursuing "credible allegations" that Indian government agents may have been involved in Nijjar's murder. The Indian High Commissioner to Canada, Sanjay Kumar Verma, said concerned authorities have been informed of the protests. Nijjar, who worked as a plumber, left the north Indian state of Punjab a quarter-century ago and became a Canadian citizen. He has supported the formation of an independent Sikh homeland, called Khalistantan, to be created out of Punjab. The Canadian government has amassed both human and signals intelligence in a months-long investigation into the Sikh separatist leader, CBC News reported last week, citing unidentified sources.

Persons: Blair Gable, Justin Trudeau, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Jatinder Singh Grewal, Trudeau, Grewal, Sanjay Kumar Verma, Verma, David Cohen, Wa, Denny Thomas, Chizu Nomiyama, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: High Commission of, REUTERS, Rights, Justice, Canada, Reuters, Sunday, Indian, Toronto Police Department, Canadian, CBC News, CTV News, Wa Lone, Thomson Locations: High Commission of India, Ottawa , Ontario, Canada, Toronto, British Columbia, Ottawa, Vancouver, Surrey, India, Delhi, Punjab, Canadian

☆ Punjab's Sikhs Fear Canada-India Row Threatens Them at Home, Abroad
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Sept. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +4 min

Persons: Manoj Kumar BHARSINGHPURA, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Justin Trudeau, Himmat Singh Nijjar, Trudeau, Narendra Modi's, Nijjar, Gursimran Singh, Indira Gandhi, Modi's, Modi, Sandeep Singh, wouldn’t, Kanwar Pal, Manoj Kumar, YP Rajesh, William Mallard Organizations: Canadian, Ottawa, DREAM, CANADA, Hindu, Bharatiya Janata Party, BJP, Dal Khalsa, Reuters, YP Locations: India, Canada, Punjab, North America, Canadian, Vancouver, Bharsinghpura, Amritsar, Nijjar's

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