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For the second time in recent months, the Indian government is facing questions about whether it was involved in an assassination plot on Western soil, as American officials said they had expressed concerns to New Delhi about a thwarted plan to kill a dual U.S.-Canadian citizen. U.S. officials did not publicly accuse India of trying to orchestrate the killing of the dual citizen, reported by news outlets to be Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a vocal advocate of the cause of Sikh separatism. But the revelation of a foiled plot comes just months after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada accused the Indian government of involvement in the killing of another Sikh separatist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, on Canadian territory. And in the case of Mr. Pannun, news outlets, led by The Financial Times, reported on Wednesday that the Biden administration had told the Indian government it had information possibly linking New Delhi to the plot against him. Responding to those reports, which cited anonymous U.S. officials, the Indian foreign ministry issued a vaguely worded statement acknowledging discussion with the United States on the matter.
Persons: Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, Justin Trudeau, Hardeep Singh, Biden Organizations: The Financial Times Locations: New Delhi, U.S, India, Canada, United States
U.S. Thwarted Plot to Kill Sikh Activist
  + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Sabrina Siddiqui | Aruna Viswanatha | ) www.wsj.com   time to read: 1 min
Attorney and Sikh activist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, seen in 2014, was said to be the target of the plot. Photo: jewel samad/Agence France-Presse/Getty ImagesWASHINGTON—U.S. authorities have stopped a plot targeting a Sikh activist and confronted the Indian government about the potential involvement of its agents, according to people familiar with the matter. The breakup of the plot, targeting Gurpatwant Singh Pannun , who is a lawyer for a group called Sikhs for Justice, comes two months after Canadian authorities publicly accused India of playing a role in the killing of another Sikh separatist leader, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in British Columbia earlier this year.
Persons: Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, samad, Hardeep Singh Nijjar Organizations: Agence France, Getty, WASHINGTON —, Justice Locations: WASHINGTON — U.S, India, British Columbia
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
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. has thwarted a plot to kill Sikh separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil, a U.S. official familiar with the matter said Wednesday. The official declined to comment on when or how U.S. officials became aware of the plot as well as how the alleged assassination attempt was derailed. The FBI is investigating the matter, the official said. Political Cartoons View All 1265 ImagesThe thwarted assassination plot was first reported by the Financial Times, which said the U.S. informed some allies of the alleged plot. The statement described the information as a “cause of concern for both countries” and said India takes it seriously.
Persons: Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, Spokespeople, Justin Trudeau, Hardeep Singh, Adrienne Watson, , Eric Tucker Organizations: WASHINGTON, U.S, FBI, Justice, Canadian, Financial Times, AP, Government, Indian, National Security, Associated Press Locations: New Delhi, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, India, Canada, Indian, U.S, Indian Government, 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
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 has alleged Indian involvement in the murder in a Vancouver suburb of Canadian citizen and Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, whom India called a "terrorist." "I would go a step further and say now the investigation has already been tainted," Verma told the newspaper. "A direction has come from someone at a high level to say India or Indian agents are behind it." Canada withdrew 41 diplomats from India after New Delhi in September asked Ottawa to reduce its diplomatic presence following Canada's allegations over Nijjar's killing. Verma said that India has not been shown concrete evidence by Canada or Canada's allies that Indian agents were involved in Nijjar's killing.
Persons: Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Nanak, Chris Helgren, India's, Sanjay Kumar Verma, Verma, Justin Trudeau, Gursimran Kaur, Matthew Lewis Organizations: REUTERS, Globe and, Thomson Locations: Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, Vancouver, India, New Delhi, Ottawa, Bengaluru
India to resume some visa services in Canada
  + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +1 min
A large India national flag is attached to India House where the High Commission of India is located, in London, Britain, September 19 2023. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsOct 25 (Reuters) - India will resume some visa services in Canada with effect from Oct. 26, its High Commission said on Wednesday, in a move that could reduce tensions caused by the murder of a Sikh separatist leader in Canada. On Wednesday, the Indian High Commission said it had decided to resume issuing some categories of visas after reviewing the security situation and taking into account recent Canadian measures, which it did not enumerate. It said it would resume issuing standard entry visas as well as business, medical and conference visas. Reporting by Akanksha Khushi in Bengaluru; Editing by Toby Chopra and Kevin LiffeyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Persons: Peter Nicholls, Justin Trudeau, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Akanksha, Toby Chopra, Kevin Liffey Organizations: Commission, REUTERS, Canada, Indian High Commission, Thomson Locations: India, London, Britain, Canada, Canadian, Vancouver, Bengaluru
REUTERS/Chris Helgren/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Oct 20 (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department on Friday urged India not to insist on Canada reducing its diplomatic presence in the country after Ottawa pulled out 41 diplomats this week amid a dispute over the murder of a Sikh separatist leader. "We are concerned by the departure of Canadian diplomats from India, in response to the Indian government's demand of Canada to significantly reduce its diplomatic presence in India," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said. Canada has alleged Indian involvement in the June murder of Canadian citizen and Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, whom India called a "terrorist." But Friday's statement from the U.S. State Department has been the most direct criticism by Washington of New Delhi thus far in this case. Canada withdrew 41 diplomats from India after New Delhi last month asked Ottawa to reduce its diplomatic presence following Canada's allegations over Nijjar's killing.
Persons: Nanak, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Chris Helgren, Matthew Miller, Washington, Kanishka Singh, Costas Pitas, Josie Kao Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, U.S . State Department, Ottawa, Department, Analysts, Diplomatic Relations, State Department, Thomson Locations: Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, India, U.S, China, Washington of New Delhi, Vienna, New Delhi, Ottawa
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomes Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau upon his arrival at Bharat Mandapam convention center for the G20 Summit, in New Delhi, India, Saturday, Sept. 9, 2023. Canada on Thursday pulled out 41 diplomats from India, and had earlier paused trade treaty talks with India. India imports potash, lentils, and energy products such as coal, coke and briquettes among other goods from Canada. Bilateral trade between Canada and India touched $8 billion in 2022. Canada has invested more than $3.6 billion in India with over 40% of that being in services and infrastructure, according to Invest India.
Persons: Narendra Modi, Justin Trudeau, Evan Vucci, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, There's, Neha Arora, Nikunj, Mayank Bhardwaj, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: Indian, Canada, Bharat, Invest India, Reuters, JSW Steel, Canada's Teck Resources, Thomson Locations: New Delhi, India, DELHI, Canada, Ottawa, Surrey, Vancouver, Canada's Teck
A man on a bicycle passes by the Canadian High-Commision in New Delhi, India, September 20, 2023. The announcements affecting consulates in Bengaluru, Chandigarh and Mumbai came hours after Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said Canada has withdrawn 41 diplomats from India. Despite the dispute, two senior Indian government sources told Reuters the uproar would not spill into a trade dispute or impact investment, with imports from Canada continuing to flow. India has dismissed as absurd Trudeau's suspicions that its agents were linked to the murder of Nijjar, 45, a Canadian citizen whom New Delhi had labelled a terrorist. The Indian foreign ministry defended its downsizing of Canada's diplomatic presence and rejected Joly's statement that it violated the Vienna convention on diplomatic relations.
Persons: Anushree, Melanie Joly, Justin Trudeau, Hardeep Singh, Nijjar, YP Rajesh, Neha Arora, Nikunj, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: Canadian, REUTERS, Reuters, Canada, Canadian High Commission, Immigration, Citizenship Canada, YP, Thomson Locations: New Delhi, India, DELHI, Canada, British Columbia, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Mumbai, Ottawa, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Canadian, Vienna
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
OTTAWA, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Canada has withdrawn 41 diplomats from India amid a dispute over the murder of a Sikh separatist leader, Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said on Thursday, adding that Ottawa would not take retaliatory steps. Joly said India had threatened to unilaterally revoke the diplomats' official status by Friday unless they left. "Given the implications of India's actions on the safety of our diplomats, we have facilitated their safe departure from India," she told a press conference. Canada now has 21 diplomats in India. Immigration Minister Marc Miller said the diplomats' departure meant Canada would slash the number of embassy staff dealing with immigration.
Persons: Melanie Joly, Justin Trudeau, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Joly, Nijjar, Marc Miller, David Ljunggren, Leslie Adler, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: OTTAWA, Ottawa, Immigration, Thomson Locations: Canada, India, New Delhi, Ottawa, British Columbia, Vienna, Canadian
Canada has withdrawn 41 diplomats from India - foreign minister
  + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +1 min
OTTAWA, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Canada has withdrawn 41 diplomats from India amid a dispute over the murder of a Sikh separatist leader, Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said on Thursday, adding that Ottawa would not take retaliatory steps. Joly said India had threatened to unilaterally revoke the diplomats' official status by Friday unless they left. "Given the implications of India's actions on the safety of our diplomats, we have facilitated their safe departure from India," she told a news conference. "If we allow the norm of diplomatic immunity to be broken, no diplomats anywhere on the planet would be safe. India has dismissed as absurd Trudeau's suspicions that its agents were linked to the murder of Nijjar, a Canadian citizen whom New Delhi had labeled a "terrorist."
Persons: Melanie Joly, Joly, Justin Trudeau, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Nijjar, David Ljunggren, Leslie Adler, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: OTTAWA, Ottawa, Thomson Locations: Canada, India, Vienna, New Delhi, Ottawa, Vancouver suburb, Canadian
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
India is by far Canada's largest source of global students in the country's fast-growing international education business, making up for roughly 40% of study permit holders. International students contribute over C$20 billion ($14.6 billion) to the Canadian economy each year. Reuters spoke to more than a dozen universities and consultants in Canada and India who said they were taking measures to reassure students. Last week, Canadian Immigration Minister Marc Miller described international students "an asset that is very lucrative". In Punjab's Amritsar, home to the Golden Temple, one of the holiest sites in Sikhism, over 5,000 students moved to Canada last year.
Persons: Justin Trudeau, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, We've, Joseph Wong, Ashok Kumar Bhatia, John Tibbits, Tibbits, Marc Miller, Rhonda Lenton, Jiwan Sharma, Melanie Joly, Gurbakhshish Singh, Nivedita Balu, Wa, Manoj Kumar, Denny Thomas, Josie Kao Organizations: Canada's, Canadian, Reuters, University of Toronto, Reuters Graphics, Association of Consultants, Overseas Studies, Conestoga, York, Taxi, Thomson Locations: India's, Vancouver , British Columbia, Canada, TORONTO, AMRITSAR, India, New Delhi, British Columbia, Kitchener , Ontario, Punjab, Punjab's Amritsar, Ottawa, Amritsar, Wa Lone, Toronto
RAW Chief Ravi Sinha, the only serving official publicly affiliated with the agency, did not return messages seeking comment. All six officials denied that RAW engages in targeted killings, noting that the agency has no mandate for such operations. Fallout from the Vancouver incident has also raised concerns that RAW will come under greater global monitoring, Indian intelligence officials and analysts said. "The current developments have undoubtedly increased global curiosity about RAW," said Dheeraj Paramesha Chaya, an expert on Indian intelligence at Britain's Hull University. "Our footprint is growing in parts of the world which were not important earlier," a recently retired senior RAW official said, without providing specifics.
Persons: Blair Gable, Justin Trudeau's, Hardeep Singh, RAW's, Narendra Modi, Ravi Sinha, Sinha, Ajit Doval, Paramesha, Trudeau, David Headley, Headley, Adrian Levy, Levy, Modi, Krishn Kaushik, Sanjeev Miglani, Katerina Ang Organizations: High Commission of, REUTERS, Canadian, Reuters, RAW, National, Britain's Hull University, Ottawa, Washington Post, MUMBAI RAW, Indian Foreign Ministry, Indian, Islamabad, American Embassy, Intelligence Bureau, Hull, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, India deniability, South, CIA, U.S . Council, Foreign Relations, PRS, Thomson Locations: High Commission of India, Ottawa , Ontario, Canada, DELHI, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Vancouver, India, Ottawa, Mumbai, West, Delhi, China, Washington, U.S, MUMBAI, Islamabad, North America, Chicago, United States, London, Britain, Australia, South Asia, Europe, Southeast Asia, New Delhi
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: 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
REUTERS/Adnan Abidi/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsOct 3 (Reuters) - Canada wants private talks with India to resolve a diplomatic dispute over the murder of a Sikh separatist leader, Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said on Tuesday, after a report said India had asked the country to withdraw 41 diplomats. India has told Canada that it must repatriate the diplomats by Oct. 10, according to the Financial Times. We take Canadian diplomats' safety very seriously and we will continue to engage privately because we think diplomatic conversations are best when they remain private," Joly told reporters. The Financial Times said India had threatened to revoke the diplomatic immunity of the 41 diplomats told to leave if they remained after Oct. 10. India suspended new visas for Canadians on Sept 22 and asked Ottawa to reduce its diplomatic presence in the country.
Persons: Narendra Modi, Justin Trudeau, Adnan Abidi, Melanie Joly, Joly, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Trudeau, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Jahnavi, David Ljunggren, Steve Scherer, Christian Schmollinger, Robert Birsel, Ed Osmond, Deepa Babington Organizations: Indian, Canadian, REUTERS, Financial Times, Indian High Commission, Thomson Locations: Hyderabad, New Delhi, India, Canada, Ottawa, Bengaluru
India tells Canada to withdraw 41 diplomats by Oct. 10 - FT
  + stars: | 2023-10-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +1 min
Oct 3 (Reuters) - India has told Canada that it must repatriate 41 diplomats by Oct. 10 as a diplomatic dispute between the two nations deepens, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday. The Financial Times, citing people familiar with the Indian demand, said India had threatened to revoke the diplomatic immunity of those diplomats told to leave who remained after Oct. 10. Canada has 62 diplomats in India and India had said that the total should be reduced by 41, the newspaper said. "We're taking this extremely seriously, but we're going to continue to engage responsibly and constructively within with the Government of India," he told reporters on Tuesday. Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said earlier 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.
Persons: Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Justin Trudeau, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Jahnavi, David Ljunggren, Steve Scherer, Christian Schmollinger, Robert Birsel, Ed Osmond Organizations: Financial Times, Financial, Canadian, Government of, Indian, Thomson Locations: India, Canada, Ottawa, Government of India, Canadian, New Delhi, Bengaluru
India-Canada ties fray in dispute over Sikh separatist killing
  + stars: | 2023-10-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +3 min
Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot dead by unidentified gunmen outside a Sikh temple on June 18 in a Vancouver suburb. * Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed strong concerns about Sikh separatist protests in Canada to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the sidelines of a G20 summit in New Delhi on Sept. 10. * Canada postponed a trade mission to India planned for October led by Trade Minister Mary Ng, a spokesperson for the minister said on Sept. 15. * India suspended issuing new visas for Canadians on Sept. 22 and asked Ottawa to reduce its diplomatic presence in India. * India's steel secretary told reporters on Sept. 28 that Indian exports to Canada were marginal and have not been affected by the diplomatic row.
Persons: Nanak, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Chris Helgren, Justin Trudeau, Narendra Modi, Mary Ng, Trudeau, Nijjar, Shivam Patel, YP Rajesh, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: REUTERS, Financial Times, Canadian, Trade, Reuters, JSW Steel, Teck Resources, YP, Thomson Locations: Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, DELHI, India, Vancouver suburb, New Delhi, Canadian, U.S, Australia, Britain, Teck, Ottawa
India Tells Canada to Withdraw 41 Diplomats - FT
  + stars: | 2023-10-03 | by ( Oct. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com   time to read: +1 min
(Reuters) - India has told Canada that it must repatriate 41 diplomats by Oct. 10, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday. Ties between India and Canada have become seriously strained over Canadian suspicion that Indian government agents had a role in the June murder in Canada of a Sikh separatist leader and Canadian citizen, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who India had labeled a "terrorist". The Financial Times, citing people familiar with the Indian demand, said India had threatened to revoke the diplomatic immunity of those diplomats told to leave who remained after Oct. 10. Canada has 62 diplomats in India and India had said that the total should be reduced by 41, the newspaper said. Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said earlier 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.
Persons: Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Jahnavi, Christian Schmollinger, Robert Birsel Organizations: Reuters, Financial Times, Financial, Indian Locations: India, Canada, Canadian, New Delhi, Bengaluru
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
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
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
Total: 25