Tensions between Canada and India have continued to escalate. India has now requested that a large part of the Canadian Embassy leave the country.
The conflict was sparked by the violent death of a Sikh Separatist in Canada, which India labels a terrorist. Trudeau immediately blamed the Indian government, leading a growing back and forth.Reuters reports:
India has asked Canada to reduce its diplomatic staff in the country by more than half, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday, with ties fraying after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau publicly levelled suspicions that Indian agents were involved in the killing of a Sikh separatist leader in Canada.
Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot dead by unidentified gunmen outside a Sikh temple on June 18 in a Vancouver suburb. India had designated him as a “terrorist” three years earlier.
Canada and India share a common bond through a history in the British empire and later the Commonwealth. Many Indians, including a Sikh minority, now live in Canada. The Hindustan Times continues:
Canada has 62 diplomats in India and India had said the total should be reduced by 41, the newspaper said.
The diplomatic relationship between New Delhi and Ottawa saw its lowest point after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently alleged that the Indian government could be behind the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Nijjar, a designated terrorist in India, was shot dead outside at a parking lot outside a Gurdwara in Canada’s Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18.
Both countries are generally on the same page in terms of their China policy. While this could jeopardize it, chances are that both governments back down before this happens.
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