Key events in India-Canada dispute over targeting of Sikh separatists

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2024.10.30 10:10

(Reuters) -Canada alleged on Tuesday that Amit Shah, India’s interior minister and the chief aide of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was behind plots to target Sikh separatists on Canadian soil.

The allegation follows Canada’s expulsion this month of six Indian diplomats it has linked to the murder of a Sikh separatist leader on Canadian soil. India has previously denied Canadian allegations and has responded by expelling Canadian six diplomats.

Here are the main events prior to Canada’s latest allegation:

June 18, 2023: Hardeep Singh Nijjar, 45, is shot dead outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, a Vancouver suburb with a large Sikh population. He was a Canadian citizen campaigning for the creation of an independent Sikh homeland named ‘Khalistan’, carved out of India.

Sept. 1, 2023: A Canadian trade official says Canada paused talks on a proposed trade treaty with India, an unexpected move that came about three months after both countries said they planned to seal an initial pact in 2023.

Sept. 10, 2023: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveys strong concerns about Sikh separatist protests in Canada to Prime Minister Trudeau on the sidelines of a G20 summit in New Delhi.

Sept. 18, 2023: Trudeau tells parliament that Canada was “actively pursuing credible allegations” linking Indian government agents to Nijjar’s killing.

Sept. 19, 2023: India dismisses Trudeau’s assertion as “absurd.” Each country expels a diplomat in tit-for-tat moves, with Canada throwing out India’s top intelligence officer in the country while India expelled his Canadian counterpart.

Sept. 22, 2023: India suspends issuing new visas for Canadians and asks Ottawa to reduce its diplomatic presence in India. India resumes issuing visas two months later.

Oct. 19, 2023: Canada has withdrawn 41 diplomats from India amid a dispute over Nijjar’s murder, Foreign Minister Melanie Joly says.

Oct. 29, 2023: Tens of thousands of Sikhs turn out in Surrey, British Columbia, at the same gurdwara, a Sikh house of worship, where Nijjar was killed to vote in an unofficial referendum on the creation of an independent Sikh state.

Nov. 22, 2023: A senior Biden administration official says U.S. authorities thwarted a plot to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a Sikh separatist, in New York and issued a warning to India over concerns the New Delhi government was involved.

Nov. 29, 2023: India says it will investigate U.S. concerns linking it to the foiled murder plot in New York.

April 30, 2024: The White House describes as a serious matter a Washington Post report that an officer in India’s intelligence service was directly involved in both Nijjar’s killing and the foiled plot to kill Pannun in the U.S. India’s foreign ministry said the report contained “unwarranted and unsubstantiated imputations.”

May 3, 2024: Canadian police charge three people linked to Nijjar’s murder, a source directly familiar with the matter says.

May 11, 2024: Canadian police arrest and charge fourth man linked to the murder of Nijjar.

Oct. 14, 2024: Canada expels six Indian diplomats, including the high commissioner, linking them to the murder of Nijjar. India expels six Canadian diplomats in retaliation, dismisses the allegations and accuses Trudeau of pursuing a “political agenda”.

Oct. 16, 2024: U.S. and Indian officials meet to discuss a probe into the foiled murder plot against Pannun, the State Department says, adding that Washington was satisfied with India’s cooperation.