Toronto, October 19, 2024 – Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly has issued a stern warning to the remaining Indian diplomats in Canada, stating that any further criminal activity will not be tolerated. The move comes after the expulsion of six Indian diplomats earlier this week, following accusations from Canada’s national police force of their involvement in murder and extortion, allegedly on orders from New Delhi.
Among those expelled was India’s high commissioner, who has been identified as a person of interest in the June 18, 2023, assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a prominent Canadian Sikh activist in British Columbia. India has vehemently denied the allegations and responded by expelling six Canadian diplomats from New Delhi.
Foreign Minister Joly cited mounting evidence that agents acting on behalf of the Indian government have been involved in violent activities within Canada, specifically targeting Sikh separatists advocating for a Sikh state in India.
“There was a clear threat, which is why the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) took the extraordinary step of making it public that Canadians were being intimidated, extorted, or even receiving death threats linked to Indian agents and diplomats,” Joly stated at a press conference in Montreal, as reported by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
“This level of transnational repression is unprecedented in our history, and it will not be allowed to happen on Canadian soil.”
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