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India-Canada friction over Khalistan issue due to "lack of understanding", says Indian envoy
Verma's remarks come amid a diplomatic crisis triggered by the murder of Canadian Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
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Indian High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma speaking at an event in Canada / X/@HCI_Ottawa
India's High Commissioner to Canada, Sanjay Kumar Verma, has said the reason for recent friction between the two countries is a result of "lack of understanding of India's concern" around a "decades-old issue (Khalistan) that has re-emerged" on foreign land.
Verma made the comments while speaking at a Montreal Council on Foreign Relations event on May.7.
"The foreigners having an evil eye on the territorial integrity of India – that is a big red line for India. Indians will decide the fate of India, not foreigners. If those Indians that are living abroad want to decide the fate of India, then they better go back and participate in the election process in India," the High Commissioner said.
The continuing Canadian police probe into the killing had been "damaged" by PM Trudeau's public statements, he said.
“There is no specific or relevant information provided in this case for us to assist them in the investigation," Verma added. "Where is the evidence? Where is the conclusion of the investigation? I would go a step further and say now the investigation has already been tainted. A direction has come from someone at a high level to say India or Indian agents are behind it."
Meanwhile, the three men accused of murdering Canadian Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in 2023 – an event that triggered a diplomatic crisis between Canada and India – appeared briefly in a British Columbia courtroom. Karanpreet Singh, Kamalpreet Singh and Karan Brar were arrested by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Edmonton and have been charged with murder and conspiracy to murder.
Nijjar, 45, was shot dead in June 2023 outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, a Vancouver suburb with a large Sikh population.
Nijjar was a Canadian citizen campaigning for the creation of Khalistan, an independent Sikh homeland carved out of India. The presence of Sikh separatist groups in Canada has long frustrated New Delhi, which had labeled Nijjar a "terrorist."
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