Anurag Kumar
Tuesday, the Canadian government updated its travel advisory urging its citizens to avoid all travel to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir “due to the unpredictable security situation,” escalating tensions between Canada and India over allegations that the Indian government may have been involved in the June killing of Khalistan extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
“Avoid all travel to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir as the security situation is unpredictable. Terrorism, militancy, civil unrest, and hijacking pose a threat. This advisory excludes travel to or within the Union Territory of Ladakh,” Canada stated in its advisory for India, which was labeled “Exert Extreme Caution.”
Even as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday demanded that India treat with “utmost seriousness” Canada’s allegations of New Delhi’s possible involvement in the murder of Nijjar, a concern echoed by Washington, the most recent development has occurred.
#WATCH | Ottawa: Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau says, "The government of India needs to take this matter with the utmost seriousness. We are doing that, we are not looking to provoke or escalate, we are simply laying out the facts as we understand them and we want to… pic.twitter.com/NyJbdxVJm6
— ANI (@ANI) September 19, 2023
In response to Canada’s assertion, an Indian intelligence official was expelled from Canada and a senior Canadian diplomat was expelled from New Delhi.
“India must treat this matter with the utmost gravity. We are not seeking to provoke or escalate by doing so,” Trudeau told reporters.
Canada stated on Monday that there were “credible allegations” that New Delhi-affiliated agents murdered Canadian citizen Nijjar in front of a Sikh cultural center in a Vancouver suburb on June 18.
The government of Narendra Modi termed Canada’s allegations “absurd.”
On Tuesday, Trudeau stated that his statement was not intended to “escalate” tensions with New Delhi.
“We seek neither to provoke nor escalate. According to CBC, he stated on Tuesday morning in Ottawa, “We are simply presenting the facts as we understand them.”
“The Indian government must treat this matter with the utmost gravity. Trudeau stated this a day after his speech in the House of Commons, which was followed by the expulsion of an Indian diplomat by Ottawa.
India summoned Canadian ambassador Cameron MacKay to the ministry of external affairs to inform him of New Delhi’s decision to expel a senior Canadian diplomat, the chief of Canadian intelligence in India.
The decision reflects the Indian government’s “growing concern at the interference of Canadian diplomats in our internal affairs and their participation in anti-India activities,” according to a statement issued by the external affairs ministry.
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“Any involvement of a foreign government in the murder of a Canadian on Canadian soil is an intolerable breach of our sovereignty. It violates the fundamental principles that govern the conduct of free, open, and democratic societies, said Trudeau on Monday.
It was widely believed that the accusation would further deteriorate bilateral relations, which were already at an all-time low due to the activities of pro-Khalistan elements in Canada, such as holding a so-called referendum on a separate homeland for Sikhs, targeting Indian diplomatic premises, and inciting violence against top Indian officials.
