Ottawa: Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly has said that the decision to expel Indian diplomats was based on evidence gathered by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in India-designated terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar killing case and urged the Indian government to support the ongoing probe for the benefit of two nations.

In a post on X, Joly stated, "Keeping Canadians safe is our government's top priority. The decision to expel individuals was based on clear evidence gathered by the RCMP in the Nijjar case. We urge the Indian government to support our ongoing investigation for the benefit of both countries."

She made the statement in response to a post shared by Canada's Foreign Policy page on X. In the post on X, Canada's Foreign Policy stated, "Minister Joly announces expulsion of Indian diplomats related to ongoing investigation on violent criminal activity linked to the Government of India."

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said that Canada will never tolerate the involvement of foreign governments in threatening and killing Canadian citizens on Canadian soil, terming it an "unacceptable violation of Canada's sovereignty.

In a statement, Trudeau urged the Indian government to cooperate with the Canadian government and recognise the credibility and severity of the evidence that has been shared so far.

The Ministry of External Affairs said on Monday that Trudeau made certain allegations in September 2023. However, the Canadian government has not shared a single piece of evidence with the Indian government despite many requests from them.

In a statement released on October 14, Trudeau said, "Canada is a country rooted in the rule of law, and the protection of our citizens is paramount. That is why, when our law enforcement and intelligence services began pursuing credible allegations that agents of the Government of India were directly involved in the killing of a Canadian citizen, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, on Canadian soil - we responded."

"We shared our concerns with the Government of India and asked them to work with us to shed light on this important issue. At the same time, police and security agencies have used all the tools at their disposal to keep Canadians safe. Today, given evidence presented by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), we are taking additional steps to protect Canadians," he further said.

He spoke about RCMP Commissioner Mike Duhame's earlier statement, wherein he claimed that Canada had evidence that Indian government agents have engaged in and continue to engage in activities that pose a threat to public safety, including clandestine information gathering techniques, coercive behaviour targeting South Asian Canadians, and involvement in over a dozen threatening and violent acts, including murder and termed the actions "unacceptable."

Trudeau said, "While attempts have been made by the RCMP and national security officials to work with the Government of India and Indian law enforcement counterparts on this matter, they have been repeatedly refused. That is why, this weekend, Canadian officials took an extraordinary step."

"They met with Indian officials to share RCMP evidence, which concluded six agents of the Government of India are persons of interest in criminal activities. And despite repeated requests to the Government of India, they have decided not to co-operate. Given that the Government of India still refuses to co-operate, my colleague, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Melanie Joly, had only one choice. Today, she issued a deportation notice for these six individuals. They must leave Canada, he further said.

He said that these six individuals will no longer be able to act as diplomats in Canada or re-enter Canada. He said that the evidence presented by the RCMP cannot be ignored and is necessary to disrupt the criminal activities that continue to pose a threat to public safety in Canada. He stressed that the Canadian government will first and foremost stand for the right of Canadians to feel safe and secure in their own country.

India on Monday expelled six Canadian diplomats hours after it summoned Canada's Charge d'Affaires Stewart Wheeler and conveyed that the "baseless targeting" of the Indian High Commissioner and other diplomats and officials in Canada was completely unacceptable.

"The Government of India has decided to expel the following six Canadian Diplomats: Mr. Stewart Ross Wheeler, Acting High Commissioner; Mr. Patrick Hebert, Deputy High Commissioner; Marie Catherine Joly, First Secretary; lan Ross David Trites, First Secretary; Adam James Chuipka, First Secretary; Paula Orjuela, First Secretary," a Ministry of External Affairs release said.

"They have been asked to leave India by or before 11:59 pm on Saturday, October 19, 2024," the release added.

MEA said earlier that it was underlined to Canada's Charge d'Affaires that in an atmosphere of extremism and violence, the Trudeau Government's actions endangered their safety and the government had decided to withdraw India's High Commissioner to Canada Sanjay Kumar Verma and other targeted diplomats and officials.

The Indian government conveyed that India reserves the right to take further steps in response to the "Trudeau Government's support for extremism, violence and separatism against India".

"Canadian Charge d'Affaires was summoned by Secretary (East) this evening. He was informed that the baseless targeting of the Indian High Commissioner and other diplomats and officials in Canada was completely unacceptable," the MEA release said.

"It was underlined that in an atmosphere of extremism and violence, the Trudeau Government's actions endangered their safety. We have no faith in the current Canadian Government's commitment to ensure their security. Therefore, the Government of India has decided to withdraw the High Commissioner and other targeted diplomats and officials," it added.

Earlier, in a hard-hitting statement, India said Prime Minister Trudeau's hostility to India has long been in evidence and his government has consciously provided space to violent extremists and terrorists "to harass, threaten and intimidate Indian diplomats and community leaders in Canada".

The statement said that High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma is India's senior-most serving diplomat with a distinguished career spanning 36 years.He has been an Ambassador in Japan and Sudan, while also serving in Italy, Turkiye, Vietnam and China. The aspersions cast on him by the Government of Canada are ludicrous and deserve to be treated with contempt, the statement said.

The ties between India and Canada have been strained after Trudeau alleged in the Canadian Parliament last year that he has "credible allegations" of India's hand in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

India has denied all the allegations, calling them "absurd" and "motivated" and has accused Canada of giving space to extremist and anti-India elements in their country. Nijjar, who was designated a terrorist by India's National Investigation Agency in 2020, was shot and killed outside a Gurdwara in Surrey in June last year.

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