Canadian Foreign Minister Announces Expulsion Of Six Indian Diplomats

OTTAWA, Oct 14 (Bernama-Xinhua) -- The Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly announced Monday the country had expelled six Indian diplomats and consular officials, Xinhua reported.

Global Affairs Canada said in a news release that the diplomats and consular officials had received a notice of expulsion from Canada, following a targeted campaign against Canadian citizens by agents linked to the Indian government.

According to the release, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) gathered information that established links between the investigation and agents of the Indian government.

In order to further the investigation and allow the RCMP to interview relevant individuals, India was asked to waive diplomatic and consular immunities and to cooperate in the investigation.

Regrettably, as India did not agree and given the ongoing public safety concerns for Canadians, Canada served notices of expulsion to these individuals. Subsequent to those notices, India announced it would withdraw its officials, the release said.

"The decision to expel these individuals was made with great consideration and only after the RCMP gathered ample, clear, and concrete evidence which identified six individuals as persons of interest in the Nijjar case," Joly said. "We continue to ask that the Indian government support the ongoing investigation in the Nijjar case."

RCMP Commissioner Michael Duheme held a press conference on Monday, warning of a public security threat linked to agents of the Indian government.

 On June 18, 2023, Nijjar was shot and killed in the parking lot of a Sikh temple in British Columbia. In September 2023, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated that Canadian intelligence agencies were "pursuing credible allegations of a potential link" between Indian government agents and the assassination of Nijjar. 

Earlier, Xinhua reported that India on Monday asked six Canadian diplomats in New Delhi to leave the country by Saturday hours after it decided to withdraw its high commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma and other "targeted diplomats and officials" from Canada.

-- BERNAMA-XINHUA