India Withdraws High Commissioner To Canada Amid Escalating Diplomatic Row

New Delhi: Amid the escalating diplomatic row, India has decided to withdraw its high commissioner to Canada and other ‘targeted diplomats and officials’, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Monday.

“The Canadian Charge d’Affaires was summoned by Secretary (East) this evening. He was informed that the baseless targeting of the Indian High Commissioner and other diplomats and officials in Canada was completely unacceptable,” MEA said in a statement.

“It was underlined that in an atmosphere of extremism and violence, the (Justin) Trudeau Government’s actions endangered their safety. We have no faith in the current Canadian Government’s commitment to ensure their security. Therefore, the Government of India has decided to withdraw the High Commissioner and other targeted diplomats and officials,” MEA stated.

“It was also conveyed that India reserves the right to take further steps in response to the Trudeau Government’s support for extremism, violence and separatism against India,” the ministry added.

Canadian Charge d’Affaires Stewart Wheelers was summoned on Monday after Trudeau’s administration included the Indian high commissioner and other diplomats as ‘person of interest’ in its probe into the murder of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar last year.

Wheelers claimed that Canada has provided “credible, irrefutable evidence” of ties between agents of Indian government and the “murder of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil.”

“Now, it is time for India to live up to what it said it would do and look into all those allegations. It is in the interest of both our countries and the people of our countries to get to the bottom of this. Canada stands ready to cooperate with India,” ANI quoted Wheelers as saying.