India withdraws envoy, diplomats named 'persons of interest' in Canada probe

NEW DELHI: India withdrew its envoy to Canada on Monday along with other officials and diplomats who Ottawa named as "persons of interest" in a matter related to an investigation in the country, the foreign ministry said.

New Delhi rejected the "preposterous imputations" of the Canadian assertion, made in a diplomatic communication on Sunday, saying it was part of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's "political agenda" centred around "vote bank politics".

The Indian foreign ministry also said it summoned the Canadian Charge d’Affaires on Monday and informed him that the "baseless targeting" of its diplomats and officials in Canada was "completely unacceptable".

"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," it said in a statement.

India also conveyed that it "reserves" the right to take further steps in response to the Canadian government's "support for extremism, violence against India", the statement said.

Relations between New Delhi and Ottawa have been frosty since September 2023, when Trudeau said that Canada had credible evidence linking Indian agents to the assassination of a Sikh leader that year, prompting a strong reaction from New Delhi, which denied the allegation.

India has repeatedly said Canada has not shared any evidence to back its claim.

"This latest step follows interactions that have again witnessed assertions without any facts. This leaves little doubt that on the pretext of an investigation, there is a deliberate strategy of smearing India for political gains," India said earlier on Monday.

Canada pulled out more than 40 diplomats from India in October 2023 after New Delhi asked Ottawa to reduce its diplomatic presence.

In June, a committee of Canadian parliamentarians had named India and China as the main foreign threats to its democratic institutions, based on input from intelligence agencies.

India's envoy in Ottawa, Sanjay Kumar Verma, called the report politically motivated and influenced by Sikh campaigners.

Earlier this year, PM Trudeau, referring to the separatist leader's assassination, said he hoped India would "engage with us so that we can get to the bottom of this very serious matter".

Soon after Canada's allegation, the US claimed that Indian agents were involved in an attempted assassination plot of another Sikh leader in New York in 2023, and said it had indicted an Indian national who was working at the behest of an unnamed Indian government official.

Unlike its angry response to Canadian allegations, however, India expressed concern after the US raised the issue, dissociating itself from the plot, and launching an investigation.

The assassination plots against Sikh leaders in Canada and the US have tested their relationship with India, as the Western nations hope to forge deeper ties with New Delhi to counter China's rising global influence.