India To Withdraw High Commissioner From Canada In Massive Escalation Of Row

I n Government’s commitment to ensure their security,” the government conveyed to the Canadian Charge d’Affaires who was summoned by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) this evening.

“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,” the foreign ministry said.

The ties between the two countries plunged further after Canada said it was investigating the Indian High Commissioner as a “person of interest” in the killing of Nijjar.

The Foreign Ministry received a “diplomatic communication from Canada yesterday suggesting that the Indian High Commissioner and other diplomats are ‘persons of interest’ in a matter related to an investigation in that country”.

It hit out at the “preposterous” allegations, terming them a “strategy of smearing India for political gains”.

The government also informed the senior diplomat of Canada this evening that the “baseless targeting of the Indian High Commissioner and other diplomats and officials in Canada was completely unacceptable”.

It was also 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, it said.

The government statement this morning slammed Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau’s “hostility to India”, adding, in 2018, his visit to India, “which was aimed at currying favour with a vote bank, rebounded to his discomfort”.