Indo-Canada Ties Hit Rock Bottom Over Khalistani Terrorist: Justin Trudeau's Allegation Becomes Flashpoint Of Fresh Conflict

Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's claims of the Indian government's involvement in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar have triggered the existing tensions between New Delhi and Ottawa. India-Canada relationships which were already tense due to several past instances have now gone for a toss after Trudeau said his government had "credible evidence" against India's links with the gunning down of the Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) chief in British Columbia in June. India has refuted the accusations calling them "absurd and motivated". 

Canada's "unsubstantiated" allegation marks a significant worsening of bilateral ties between the two countries as the Indian External Affairs Ministry stressed Trudeau government's "inaction" and protective nature towards Khalistani terrorists and extremists. 

"Such unsubstantiated allegations seek to shift the focus from Khalistani terrorists and extremists, who have been provided shelter in Canada and continue to threaten India's sovereignty and territorial integrity. That Canadian political figures have openly expressed sympathy for such elements remains a matter of deep concern. The space given in Canada to a range of illegal activities including murders, human trafficking and organised crime is not new. We reject any attempts to connect the Government of India to such developments," the Ministry said in a statement. 

A Look At Incidents Which Contributed To India-Canada Ties Hitting Rock Bottom

Tit-for-tat move: India expels Canadian diplomat in retaliation to Ottawa's dismissal of New Delhi's senior delegate - The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Tuesday summoned the High Commissioner of Canada to India and informed that the Indian Government has taken the decision to expel a senior diplomat based in India, directing the delegate leave within the next five days. India's decree comes after Canada fired a New Delhi top diplomat over alleged links to Hardeep Singh Nijjar's killing. 

"The decision reflects the Government of India’s growing concern at the interference of Canadian diplomats in our internal matters and their involvement in anti-India activities," MEA in a statement said. 

ALSO READ: Canada Alleges Indian Involvement In Killing Khalistani Terrorist, Expels Top Diplomat

Frozen talks on free-trade agreement-  India and Canada, which had finally agreed to outline a trade deal by October 2023, put a pause to the agreement earlier this month. The negotiations for a bilateral free trade agreement that now stands stalled came after Canada PM Justin Trudeau's delayed return to his country following his participation in the G20 Summit held in New Delhi and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "promoting secessionism and inciting violence" scolding on the sidelines of the mega event. 

While Canada said that "trade negotiations are long,complex processes", India cited "certain political developments" to be the reason behind halting the trade talks. 

Trudeau's plane snag raises eyebrows about Canada's infrastructure- The Canada PM who had flown to India on Airbus A310s, faced glitches delaying his travel back to the country. The flight malfunction led to Canadians questioning the crumbling state of the country's infrastructure. 

Leader of the Conservative Party Pierre Poilievre attacking Trudeau for mismanagement said, "Now Trudeau gets to experience the same flight delays he has imposed on Canadians through his mismanagement of federal airports."

Indian students in Canada face deportation- The Canadian Border Service Agency in March this year alerted Indian students admitted to Canadian universities that their admission letters for the colleges were fake, thus making them illegal immigrants to the country. Most of these students came to know of this after they had already completed their degrees and were applying for permanent residency in Canada. 

These students were duped by fake agents mostly from Punjab. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar assured that the Indian High Commission in Canada would help the students facing deportation. 

Canada completely scrubbed all Khalistani and Sikh extremism in its 2018 report on terrorist threats- Much to the Chagrin of India, Ottawa in its “2018 Public Report on the Terrorist Threat to Canada” refrained from mentioning Khalistani terror activities or Sikh separatist movements and actions of extremism. “This is why we are seeing this dichotomy, of having cooperation at the level of officials that is not seen at the higher levels," an Indian official had said in the report. 

ALSO READ: 'Canadian Too In Shock': Justin Trudeau Faces Heat At Home After Sacking Indian Envoy

Convicted Khalistani Terrorist on Justin Trudeau's dinner guest list- A Khalistani terrorist Jaspal Atwal was reportedly photographed with Justin Trudeau's wife during an official dinner reception in New Delhi when the Canadian PM along with family were on their first official visit to India. This move had further soured the relations between the two countries reiterating Trudeau's soft-stance on Khalistani extremism.  

Later the Canadian government withdrawing the invite had said, "This individual (Jaspal Atwal) should never have been invited to any event on the program, and his invitation has been rescinded. We are in the process of looking into how this occurred."

Justin Trudeau cold-shouldered during 2018 trip- After Trudeau landed with his family in New Delhi, he was received by a junior minister and reportedly was ignored by the senior officials of the Indian government during his trips to Gujharat, Taj Mahal and other places. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Trudeau at least two days after his arrival in India at that time.