The Canadian government alleged on Tuesday that Indian Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah, a close ally of Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was behind the plots to target Sikh separatists on Canadian soil.
The Indian government has dismissed Canada’s prior accusations as baseless, denying any involvement.
The Washington Post newspaper first reported that Canadian officials alleged Shah was behind a campaign of violence and intimidation targeting Sikh separatists in Canada.
Canadian Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister David Morrison said to a parliamentary panel on Tuesday that he told the US-based newspaper that Shah was behind the plots.
“The journalist called me and asked if it (Shah) was that person. I confirmed it was that person,” Morrison told the committee, without providing further details or evidence. The High Commission of India in Ottawa and the Indian foreign ministry had no immediate comment.
India has called Sikh separatists “terrorists” and threats to its security. Sikh separatists demand an independent homeland known as Khalistan to be carved out of India. An insurgency in India during the 1980s and 1990s killed tens of thousands.
That period included the 1984 anti-Sikh riots that left thousands dead following the assassination of then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards after she ordered security forces to storm the holiest Sikh temple to flush out Sikh separatists.
Canada in mid-October expelled Indian diplomats, linking them to the 2023 murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil. India also ordered the expulsion of Canadian diplomats.
The Canadian case is not the only instance of India’s alleged targeting of Sikh separatists on foreign soil.
Washington has charged a former Indian intelligence officer, Vikash Yadav, for allegedly directing a foiled plot to murder Sikh separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a dual US-Canadian citizen and Indian critic in New York City.
The FBI warned against such a retaliation aimed at a US resident. India has said little publicly since announcing in November 2023 it would formally investigate the US allegations.
The accusations have tested Washington and Ottawa’s relations with India, often viewed by the West as a counterbalance to China.
Canada alleges Indian minister Amit Shah behind plot to target Sikh separatists
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Canada alleges Indian minister Amit Shah behind plot to target Sikh separatists
- Canada in mid-October expelled Indian diplomats, linking them to the 2023 murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil
Canada PM Carney says can’t rule out military participation in Iran war
- Carney had said the US-Israeli strikes on Iran were “inconsistent with international law”
- However, he supports the efforts to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon
CANBERRA, Australia: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Thursday that he couldn’t rule out his country’s military participation in the escalating war in the Middle East.
Carney’s visit to Australia this week has been overshadowed by expanding war in the Middle East, sparked by a massive US-Israeli strike on Iran that killed its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Speaking alongside local counterpart Anthony Albanese in Canberra, Carney was asked whether there was a situation in which Canada would get involved.
“One can never categorically rule out participation,” he said, while stressing the question was a “hypothetical” one.
“We will stand by our allies,” said Carney, adding that “we will always defend Canadians.”
Carney had said the US-Israeli strikes on Iran were “inconsistent with international law.”
However, he supports the efforts to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon — a position that Canada takes “with regret” as it represented “another example of the failure of the international order.”
The Canadian leader reiterated on Thursday his call for a “de-escalation” of the conflict.
Carney’s trip is part of a multi-country tour of the Asia-Pacific aimed at reducing reliance on the United States — a hedge against what he has described as a fading US-led global order.
The Australia leg of the tour is aimed at bringing in investment and deepening ties with a like-minded “middle power” partner.
‘Middle power’ rallying cry
On Thursday morning he issued a rallying cry in Australia’s parliament to “middle powers,” urging them to work together in an increasingly hegemonic world order.
Nations like Australia and Canada faced a stark choice — work together to help write the “new rules” of the global order or have great powers do it for them, he said.
“In this brave new world, middle powers cannot simply build higher walls and retreat behind them. We must work together,” he said.
“Great powers can compel, but compulsion comes with costs, both reputational and financial,” the former central banker added.
“Middle powers like Australia and Canada hold this rare convening power because others know we mean what we say and we will match our values with our actions.”
The Canadian leader also said the two countries would together as “strategic collaborators” to pool their vast combined rare earth mineral resources.
And he detailed renewed cooperation in areas from defense to artificial intelligence.
“We know we must work with others who share our values to build solid capabilities,” he told parliament.
Otherwise, he warned, they risked being “caught between the hyperscalers and the hegemons.”
The Canadian leader has frequently clashed with US President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly threatened to annex Canada and slapped swingeing tariffs on the country.
In a speech to political and financial elites at the World Economic Forum in January, Carney warned the US?led global system of governance was enduring “a rupture.”
