India and Canada have exchanged diplomatic criticism over a row related to the investigation into the killing of pro-Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Relations between the two countries have been tense since last year, when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he had evidence linking Indian agents to the killing of the Khalistani terrorist in his country.

Earlier this week, both India and Canada expelled six diplomats after Ottawa named the Indian ambassador as a “person of interest” in the investigation. India called Canada’s move “ridiculous” and part of the Trudeau government’s political agenda.

Diplomatic row India Canada

1. The diplomatic row between India and Canada began after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused the Indian government of involvement in the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a pro-Khalistani leader, on Canadian soil in September 2023.

2. Nijjar, who was designated a terrorist by India in 2020, was shot dead by masked gunmen outside a Sikh temple in British Columbia on June 18, 2023.

3. Trudeau and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) alleged that Indian diplomats targeted Sikh separatists in Canada and passed information to organized crime groups.

4. Justin Trudeau also claimed in public testimony that Indian diplomats gathered information about Canadians who disagreed with Narendra Modi’s government and passed it on to the highest levels of the Indian government and criminal organizations such as the Lawrence Bishnoi gang.

5. India dismissed the allegations as ‘absurd’ and ‘ridiculous’ and called them part of Trudeau’s political agenda. India has repeatedly criticized Trudeau’s government for being soft on Khalistan movement supporters living in Canada.

6. India expelled six Canadian diplomats, and Canada responded by asking six Indian diplomats to leave the country.

7. Sandeep Singh Sidhu, a Canadian Border Police officer, has been added by India to a terror probe. Sidhu, an employee of the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA), is accused of promoting terrorist activities in Punjab and is alleged to have links with Pakistan-based Khalistan terrorist Lakhbir Singh Rode and other ISI operatives.

8. Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said Friday that the remaining Indian diplomats in the country are “clearly on notice” after Canada named the Indian High Commissioner in Ottawa as a person of interest in the killing of a Sikh separatist leader.

9. Experts believe the diplomatic row is unlikely to have a direct impact on visa policies, but processing delays will continue until diplomatic staffing levels are restored.

10. The United States called on India to take seriously Canada’s allegations of an assassination plot as tensions between the two US partners escalated.