Current:Home > StocksIndia tells Canada to remove 41 of its 62 diplomats in the country, an official says-LoTradeCoin
India tells Canada to remove 41 of its 62 diplomats in the country, an official says
View Date:2024-12-24 08:01:30
TORONTO (AP) — India has told Canada to remove 41 of its 62 diplomats in the country, an official familiar with the matter said Tuesday, ramping up a confrontation between the two countries over Canadian accusations that India may have been involved in the killing of a Sikh separatist leader in suburban Vancouver.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak publicly ahead of public reaction from the Canadian government later Tuesday. The official confirmed an earlier report from the Financial Times.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs declined comment.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stood up in Parliament last month and said there were “credible allegations” of Indian involvement in the slaying of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a 45-year-old Sikh leader who was killed by masked gunmen in June in Surrey, outside Vancouver. For years, India has said Nijjar, a Canadian citizen born in India, has links to terrorism, an allegation Nijjar denied.
Arranging the killing of a Canadian citizen in Canada, home to nearly 2 million people of Indian descent, would be unprecedented.
India has accused Canada for years of giving free rein to Sikh separatists, including Nijjar.
India has also canceled visas for Canadians. Canada has not retaliated for that. India also previously expelled a senior Canadian diplomat after Canada expelled a senior Indian diplomat.
The allegation of India’s involvement in the killing is based in part on the surveillance of Indian diplomats in Canada, including intelligence provided by a major ally, a separate Canadian official previously told The Associated Press.
The official said the communications involved Indian officials and Indian diplomats in Canada and that some of the intelligence was provided by a member of the “Five Eyes” intelligence-sharing alliance, which includes the United States, Britain, Australia and New Zealand, in addition to Canada. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of not being authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
The latest expulsions by India have escalated tensions between the countries. Trudeau had frosty encounters with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during this month’s Group of 20 meeting in New Delhi, and a few days later, Canada canceled a trade mission to India planned for the fall.
Nijjar, a plumber, was also a leader in what remains of a once-strong movement to create an independent Sikh homeland, known as Khalistan. A bloody decadelong Sikh insurgency shook north India in the 1970s and 1980s, until it was crushed in a government crackdown in which thousands of people were killed, including prominent Sikh leaders.
The Khalistan movement has lost much of its political power but still has supporters in the Indian state of Punjab, as well as in the sizable overseas Sikh diaspora. While the active insurgency ended years ago, the Indian government has warned repeatedly that Sikh separatists were trying to make a comeback.
veryGood! (833)
Related
- Amazon launches an online discount storefront to better compete with Shein and Temu
- Retired general’s testimony links private contractor to Abu Ghraib abuses
- Hit up J. Crew Factory for up to 75% off Timeless Styles That Will Give Your Wardrobe a Summer Refresh
- Rico Wade: Hip-hop community, Atlanta react to the death of the legendary producer
- Tony Hinchcliffe refuses to apologize after calling Puerto Rico 'garbage' at Trump rally
- Wait, what is a scooped bagel? Inside the LA vs. New York debate dividing foodies.
- Supreme Court appears divided over obstruction law used to prosecute Trump, Jan. 6 rioters
- Shannen Doherty Shares Lessons Learned From Brutal Marriage to Ex Kurt Iswarienko
- 2025 Medicare Part B premium increase outpaces both Social Security COLA and inflation
- House sends Mayorkas impeachment articles to Senate as clash over trial looms
Ranking
- Jared Goff stats: Lions QB throws career-high 5 INTs in SNF win over Texans
- Alexa and Carlos PenaVega reveal stillbirth of daughter: 'It has been a painful journey'
- Caitlin Clark is No. 1 pick in WNBA draft, going to the Indiana Fever, as expected
- Lottery, gambling bill heads to Alabama legislative conference committee for negotiations
- Tennessee fugitive accused of killing a man and lying about a bear chase is caught in South Carolina
- Federal appeals court overturns West Virginia transgender sports ban
- H&R Block customers experience outages ahead of the Tax Day deadline
- Former shoemaker admits he had an illegal gambling operation in his Brooklyn shop
Recommendation
-
Skiing legend Lindsey Vonn ends retirement, plans to return to competition
-
Chiefs' Rashee Rice, SMU's Teddy Knox face $10 million lawsuit for crash
-
Gayle King and Charles Barkley end 'King Charles' CNN talk show run after 6 months
-
How to get rid of hiccups. Your guide to what hiccups are and if they can be deadly.
-
Katherine Schwarzenegger Gives Birth, Welcomes Baby No. 3 With Chris Pratt
-
Former Arkansas officer pleads guilty to civil rights violation in violent arrest caught on video
-
Caitlin Clark will play right away and drive ticket sales. What about other WNBA draftees?
-
Fed’s Powell: Elevated inflation will likely delay rate cuts this year