India warns of “further damage” to ties with Canada

NEW DELHI: India has warned Canada of “further damage” to already strained ties after Toronto’s Globe and Mail alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had learned of a alleged campaign targeting Sikh activists.

Canada is home to the largest Sikh community outside of India and includes activists for “Khalistan,” a fringe separatist movement seeking an independent state for the religious minority carved out of Indian territory.

Ottawa previously accused India of orchestrating the 2023 killing in Vancouver of a 45-year-old man. naturalized Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjara prominent activist from Khalistan and targeting other Sikh activists linked to the movement.

Nijjar, 45, was shot dead by masked gunmen outside the Sikh temple he presided over after he was wanted by Indian authorities on charges of terrorism and conspiracy to commit murder – charges he – he denied.

India has repeatedly denied the allegations, which have sent diplomatic relations into freefall, with both nations expelling a new round of senior diplomats last month.

New Delhi has previously denied this Home Minister Amit Shah had plotted to target Sikh activists on Canadian soil and officially reprimanded Ottawa for what he said was an “absurd and baseless” charge.

The Globe and Mail reported on Tuesday (November 19) that Canadian security agencies “believe” Modi knew about the alleged campaign targeting Canadian Sikh activists.

“Such ridiculous statements made to a newspaper purportedly by a Canadian government source should be dismissed with the contempt they deserve,” India’s foreign ministry said in a statement late Wednesday.

“Smear campaigns like this only further strain our already strained ties.”

The paper quoted an unnamed Canadian official as saying that Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and National Security Adviser Ajit Doval were “also in the know”.

“The assessment is that it would be inconceivable that three senior political figures in India would not have discussed the targeted killings with Mr. Modi before proceeding,” the official told the Toronto daily.