Canada expels Indian diplomat, accuses India of assassinating Canadian citizen
September 19, 2023 9 Comments
THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA expelled a senior Indian diplomat on Monday, after accusing “agents of the government of India” of having perpetrated the assassination of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil last June. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau released information about the alleged assassination during a rare emergency statement to parliament on Monday morning. He also warned India that Canada would continue to work with its allies around the world, including the United Kingdom, to unearth further intelligence about the alleged assassination.
The case involves the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was gunned down on June 18, 2023, outside a Sikh cultural center in Surrey, British Columbia. Nijjar was an outspoken activist and a member of Canada’s Sikh community. The adherents of Sikhism follow a monotheistic religion that originated during the late 15th century in what today in northern India’s Punjab region. Many Sikhs support the creation of Sikh homeland, which they refer to as Khalistan —an aspiration that has sparked numerous armed conflicts in India’s history. The government of India considers such aspirations a threat to its national security and regularly refers to leading Sikh activists as terrorists.
Over half of the 1.4 million Canadians of Indian origin identify as Sikhs. This makes Canada’s Sikh population the largest in the world outside of the Punjab region of India. Canadian Sikhs tend to be outspoken in their criticism of the government of India. Many of them campaign openly about what they see as the need for the establishment of an independent Sikh homeland. Nijjar was one such outspoken activist, having risen “to become a prominent advocate for the creation of Khalistan”, according to one recent biographical article. Indian authorities had accused Nijjar of terrorism and had issued a warrant for his arrest.
On Monday, Prime Minister Trudeau referred to Nijjar’s assassination as “an unacceptable violation of [Canada’s] sovereignty, adding that the murdered man was Canadian citizen. He went on to state that Canadian security agencies had been “actively pursuing allegations of a potential link” between Nijjar’s death and “agents of the government of India”. The Canadian leader also called on the government of India “to cooperate with Canada to get to the bottom of this matter”. As of early this morning local time, the Indian embassy in Ottawa was not responding to requests for comment.
► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 19 Septembrer 2023 | Permalink
A court in Frankfurt has found a married couple guilty of spying in Germany on behalf of India’s external intelligence service. Due to Germany’s strict privacy laws, the couple have been identified only as 50-year-old Manmohan S. and his wife, Kanwal Jit K., who is 51.
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Mounting concern in the EU about Indian black operations targeting dissidents
December 11, 2024 by intelNews 1 Comment
Somewhat-less-black operations, in which individuals —usually living abroad— are not killed, but intimidated, persecuted, threatened, or roughed up, appear to be increasingly utilized as a tool by certain states that have little tolerance for domestic political opposition. Ken McCallum, Director General of Britain’s Security Service (MI5), stated on 8 October 2024 that, “since January 2022, with police partners, we have responded to twenty Iran-backed plots presenting potentially lethal threats to British citizens and UK residents”.
Back in September 2023, The Guardian reported having spoken to 15 Iranian activists living in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Switzerland and Sweden, who were being persecuted and intimidated, or had been threatened in various ways by the Iranian regime’s henchmen and its intelligence services. There are numerous similar examples of journalists and dissidents who have been a thorn in the side of the Turkish government for several years now. In addition to threats and violence, there are reports of abductions by Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT). In recent years, China too has increasingly relied on intimidation directly in the West, and has also engaged Western investigators and helpers for this purpose.
One concerning development is the fact that these states are apparently increasingly resorting to the help of members of Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs (OMCG), members of drug cartels, and other criminals. Regardless of whether it is for purposes of sabotage, threats, or assassinations,
shady figures —typically apolitical— are undertaking missions on behalf of the intelligence agencies of authoritarian states on European soil.
The Case of India
Another country that has been in the spotlight for some time is India, which has historically maintained a low profile in the West, in terms of black operations. Western intelligence agencies could have predicted that there would be an escalation —i.e. Indian black operations on Western soil— which could lead to the liquidation of alleged or actual terrorists. If one observes the reports of Indian intelligence agencies and analysts on the activities of its mortal enemy, Pakistan, and its intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), it quickly becomes apparent that India is less and less willing to tolerate what it regards as terrorism sponsored by Pakistan. This applies particularly to individuals and organizations operating from abroad. Read more of this post
Filed under Expert news and commentary on intelligence, espionage, spies and spying Tagged with assassinations, Canada, diplomatic expulsions, European Union, Germany, India, Sikhism