India-Canada Diplomatic Row
The diplomatic row between Canada and India, which began last year over the alleged killing of a Sikh leader by Indian agents, has intensified, with both countries expelling six diplomats, including the ambassadors, two days ago. Canadian police claimed they had evidence linking agents of the Indian government to serious criminal activity. Referring to the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau publicly asserted that there were credible allegations connecting Indian intelligence services to the crime. Nijjar was a staunch advocate for the creation of a Sikh state, Khalistan, carved out of India.
It is worth noting that the United States had also accused India of a similar, albeit unsuccessful, assassination plot on US soil, though it handled the matter more quietly. In response to the mutual expulsion of diplomats by India and Canada, the US has called on India to take the Canadian allegations seriously, reiterating the need for India to cooperate with Canada in investigations—a step India has so far resisted, choosing an alternative path instead. The US response has been notably mild for what amounts to state terrorism by India, deserving the same level of condemnation the US has issued in similar cases involving other countries. This double standard has, in effect, emboldened India to continue such acts of state terrorism with impunity. Pakistan has also experienced similar assassinations by Indian agents. On January 24, 2024, former Foreign Secretary Muhammad Syrus Sajjad Qazi revealed in a media briefing that India had been involved in........
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