NEW DELHI (AP) 鈥� Relations between India and sa国际传媒 are at a low point as the countries over an ongoing dispute about the killing of a Sikh activist in sa国际传媒.
sa国际传媒 said it had identified India鈥檚 top diplomat in the country as a person of interest in an assassination plot and expelled him and five other diplomats Monday. India has rejected the accusations as absurd, and its foreign ministry said it was expelling sa国际传媒鈥檚 acting high commissioner and five other diplomats in response.
It鈥檚 the latest in an escalating dispute over the June 2023 killing of .
What is the dispute about?
Nijjar was fatally shot in his pickup truck in June 2023 after he left the Sikh temple he led in the city of Surrey, British Columbia. An Indian-born citizen of sa国际传媒, he owned a plumbing business and was a leader in a movement to create an independent Sikh homeland, which is banned in India.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in September 2023 there were that India鈥檚 government had links to the killing. India denied the allegations at the time but said Nijjar was involved in 鈥渢errorism.鈥�
How did relations get to this point?
sa国际传媒 expelled an Indian diplomat over the dispute last year, and in response India and froze consular services for Canadians for nearly two months.
Tensions boiled over again in May, when Canadian police said they had arrested three Indian nationals accused of involvement in Nijjar鈥檚 killing and were 鈥渋nvestigating if there are any ties to the government of India.鈥� India rejected the allegations, saying sa国际传媒 had a 鈥減olitical compulsion鈥� to blame India.
What changed on Monday?
Now, sa国际传媒 says that India's top diplomat in the country is a person of interest in the killing, and that police have uncovered evidence of an intensifying campaign against Canadian citizens by agents of the Indian government.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said it had found evidence of the involvement of Indian agents 鈥渋n serious criminal activity in sa国际传媒," including links 鈥渢o homicides and violent acts鈥� and interference in sa国际传媒's democratic processes, among other things.
Meanwhile, sa国际传媒鈥檚 foreign minister, M茅lanie Joly, tied the Indian officials to Nijjar's assassination and said sa国际传媒 had gathered 鈥渁mple, clear and concrete evidence which identified six individuals as persons of interest in the Nijjar case.鈥�
She said India had been asked to waive diplomatic immunity and cooperate in the investigation but refused.
In a statement Monday, India鈥檚 foreign ministry said that the Canadian government 鈥渉as not shared a shred of evidence鈥� with the Indian government, 鈥渄espite many requests from our side.鈥� The ministry also called the accusations part of 鈥渁 deliberate strategy of smearing India for political gains.鈥�
Who was Nijjar?
Nijjar was a local leader in what remains of a once-strong movement to create known as Khalistan. The Khalistan movement is banned in India, but has support among the Sikh diaspora, particularly in sa国际传媒.
India designated Nijjar a terrorist in 2020, and at the time of his death was seeking his arrest for alleged involvement in an attack on a Hindu priest in India.
New Delhi鈥檚 anxieties about Sikh separatist groups in sa国际传媒 have long been a strain on the relationship, but the two countries have maintained strong defense and trade ties, and share strategic concerns over China鈥檚 global ambitions. However, India has increasingly accused sa国际传媒 of giving free rein to Sikh separatists.
Sikhs make up nearly 2% of sa国际传媒's population, and more than a dozen are members of the country's parliament.
Sheikh Saaliq, The Associated Press
