Canada says no to NIA probe, but promises diplomats’ safety

Sandeep Dikshit

New Delhi, August 8

Pushing back at suggestions by the South Block to permit a team from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to probe recent incidents in Canada involving Khalistani separatists, Ontario has said it is working to ensure the safety and security of all diplomatic representatives, including Indian diplomats, when feelers to this effect were given last month, said sources.

Threat to officials

• Videos and posters appeared recently, threatening Indian diplomats who were held responsible by extremists for the murder of separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjer.
• Earlier, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had said countries had been asked not to give space to extremism.

“There is no place in Canada for the incitement of violence. Law enforcement has been engaged following the circulation of an online video in relation to threats against Indian diplomatic officials,” Public Safety Canada said on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) when the indications were sent about the Indian Government’s desire to send an NIA team.

“Canadian law enforcement and the Government continue to work to ensure the safety and security of all diplomatic representatives in Canada,” it said last week.

Ontario, however, has been amused by suggestions that appeared as reports in the media here about the intention of an NIA team to visit Canada after videos and posters appeared threatening the safety of some Indian diplomats whom they held responsible for the murder of separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjer in June this year.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said earlier that countries such as Canada, the UK and the US had been asked not to give space to extremist Khalistani ideology. India has posted two of the diplomats named by the Khalistanis out of Canada to other countries though that can be explained as routine transfers. Canada and India have started interacting on the possibility of expanding trade as well as enabling the investment by Canadian pension funds into India.

Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly last month assured India of the safety of its diplomats and termed the “promotional material” circulating ahead of a Khalistan rally “unacceptable”. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has also refuted Jaishankar about inaction against separatists.

In June, India slammed Canada after visuals surfaced on social media of a tableau in Brampton that reportedly celebrated the assassination of former PM Indira Gandhi.

Canada’s response to the Khalistani issue appeared to be constrained by its “vote bank compulsions”, and India will have to respond if the activities impinge on its national security and integrity, Jaishankar had said on the issue. (With PTI inputs)