India slams Canadian House's 'silence' tribute to Khalistani terrorist Nijjar
India criticized the Canadian parliament on Friday for holding a "moment of silence" on June 18 for Khalistani Tiger Force terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, marking the one-year anniversary of his shooting in Surrey, British Columbia. "We oppose any move giving political space to extremism," stated Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for India's Ministry of External Affairs said during a weekly briefing. Canada's House of Commons observed a "moment of silence" in memory of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, whose killing has strained India-Canada relations.
Why does this story matter?
The relationship between India and Canada has been fraught for years due to efforts by certain Canadians advocating the creation of a separate Sikh homeland—Khalistan—within India. It deteriorated last year when Justin Trudeau publicly accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government of being involved in Nijjar's killing. Efforts to rekindle the relationship have remained lukewarm since then, with Trudea recently stating that India and Canada will cooperate on a range of important issues but didn't specify what those issues were.
Sikh activists stage mock murder trial
To recall, in 2020, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) identified Hardeep Singh Nijjar as one of India's "most wanted" and included him in a list of 40 "designated terrorists." Separately, Sikh activists had marked Nijjar's death anniversary by staging a mock trial for Modi outside the Indian consulate in Vancouver. The event featured actors as a jury and a judge, and an effigy of Modi in prison stripes paraded in a makeshift cage.
India's protest over pro-Khalistani activities in Canada
Separately, India also lodged a strong protest with Canada over an event by pro-Khalistani elements burning an effigy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Vancouver. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar disclosed that New Delhi had given Ottawa a list of 25 names, including Khalistani extremists and gangsters, for extradition. However, the Trudeau government has not responded to this request.
India refutes allegations, four arrested in connection
So far, four Indian nationals have been arrested by Canadian authorities in relation to the June 2023 murder of Nijjar. All of them have also been charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. At the time of the arrests, police said that investigations were ongoing, including "connections to the government of India." India has repeatedly dismissed the allegations of involvement in Nijjar's assassination as "absurd and motivated."
