Canadian laxity

THE pro-Khalistan slogans raised at a public event, which was attended by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other leaders in Toronto on Sunday, validate India’s claim that Canada has been giving space to separatism and extremism. India summoned the Canadian deputy high commissioner on Monday and lodged a strong protest over the incident, which was described by the Ministry of External Affairs as ‘disturbing’. New Delhi has stated that such actions not only impact the India-Canada relations but also encourage a climate of violence and criminality in Canada.

The ties between the two nations have been under strain after Trudeau announced in September last year that Canadian agencies were probing the alleged involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was designated as a terrorist by India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA). Canada, however, has failed to substantiate the charges, which were promptly dismissed by India as ‘absurd’. Having repeatedly asked Ottawa to share credible evidence in the Nijjar case, India has been asserting that its core issue with Canada continues to be the latitude given to separatists, terrorists and anti-India elements in that country.

New Delhi has also taken exception to a Washington Post report that named an Indian official who allegedly hatched a plot to kill NIA-designated terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. India has said that the report makes ‘unwarranted and unsubstantiated’ imputations on a serious matter. A high-level committee set up by the Indian government is already carrying out an investigation into the security concerns shared by the Biden administration on networks of criminals and terrorists. The US, which has affirmed that India has been taking the Pannun case seriously, needs to ensure that its territory is not misused by troublemakers to whip up anti-India sentiment.