The unease in India-Canada ties was on display when Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday responded to a congratulatory message from his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau and said New Delhi looks forward to working with Ottawa based on mutual understanding and respect for 'each other's concerns'.
'We have had numerous conversations with India before the Prime Minister went in front of the house and made his declaration. This was not a surprise to the Government of India and through these different conversations, the Indian officials were made aware of the credible allegations'
The Indian government has lodged a strong protest with Canada after consular officials at the Indian consulate in Vancouver were informed they were under audio and video surveillance and that their private communications had been intercepted. The Indian government maintains that Canada has provided space for pro-Khalistan elements operating from Canadian soil with impunity and has urged Canada to take action against anti-India elements.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said that he discussed the 'present state' of bilateral ties and the current global issues with his Canadian counterpart Melanie Joly, amidst a diplomatic row between the two countries over the killing of a Sikh separatist in Canada.
Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun has filed a civil lawsuit against the Government of India and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, with a US court issuing summons in the case.
'In the end, officials in India will be thrown to the wolves, quietly released a couple of years down the road and we'll never hear about them again.'
Fabian cautioned that things may get worse if the current trajectory continues.
India, Canada relations have nosedived after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegations last month linking Indian agents to the killing of Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June.
A Canadian high commission spokesperson on Friday said the slashing of the size of the Indian staff was necessary given the reduction of Canadian staff in the country.
'When it comes to India, I have mentioned it many times, I am in close contact with my counterpart, S Jaishankar, and we know this is a difficult moment in a relationship that spanned decades, so therefore I am confident that we will be able to get through this difficult period'
Of the 26 requests sent to Canada for extraditing Khalistani terrorists, Ottawa has resolved only five and the rest remain in limbo, India's top envoy to that country has said, calling it the result of 'inaction'.
Evidence should have been shared first, but someone decided to stand in the Parliament and talk about a thing for which he himself has said there was 'no hard evidence'
Chandra Arya, a Member of Parliament from Nepean in the House of Commons, said in a post on his X account that separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun of Sikhs for Justice released a video demanding that Arya and his Hindu-Canadian friends go back to India after he (Arya) condemned the vandalism of the Hindu temple and other acts of hate and violence by Khalistan supporters in Canada.
'India and Canada have almost 200 years of shared history and migrations. This won't be the last of our partnership.'
Khalistani separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, whose killing led to a major diplomatic row between India and Canada, reached the North American country using a counterfeit passport and Canada did not take any action against him despite being informed that he faced over a dozen criminal cases of murder and other terrorist activities, sources said on Friday.
"What we have heard today only confirms what we have been saying consistently all along -- Canada has presented us no evidence whatsoever in support of the serious allegations that it has chosen to level against India and Indian diplomats," the MEA spokesperson said in the statement.
Incidentally, the allegations come at a time when Lawrence Bishnoi is in the news in India for his alleged involvement in the murder of Nationalist Congress Party leader Baba Siddique in Mumbai.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said that he sees a new opening to engage with India on 'some very serious' issues on national security after the return of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to office for a third consecutive term.
A day after The Washington Post named an Indian official for allegedly plotting to eliminate Sikh extremist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, India on Tuesday said the report made 'unwarranted and unsubstantiated' imputations on a serious matter.
The National Investigation Agency has posted a list of gangsters and terrorists based in Canada.
Trudeau claimed the Indian diplomats were collecting information on Canadians who are in disagreement with the Narendra Modi government and passing it to the highest levels within the Indian government and criminal organisations like the Lawrence Bishnoi gang.
"From the beginning, as of last summer, we've worked closely with our Five Eyes partners, particularly with the United States, where they have gone through a similar pattern of behaviour from India in regards to an attempted extrajudicial killing," Trudeau told reporters at a news conference in Ottawa.
India on Thursday strongly rejected as 'baseless' allegations of its interference in Canadian elections and asserted that the core issue has been Ottawa's meddling in New Delhi's internal affairs.
While there was no mention of India in the National Cyber Threat Assessment reports of 2018, 2020 and 2023-24, the 2025-26 assessment mentions India -- along with China, Russia, Iran and North Korea -- in the 'Cyber threat from state adversaries' section that introduces the state cyber threat ecosystem and discusses the cyber threats to Canada.
When asked if Modi and Singh's comments can be seen as "confessions" on the alleged "assassination of (Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh) Nijjar in Canada, (designated terrorist Gurpatwant Singh) Pannu's murder-for-hire plot in New York, and killings in Pakistan", Miller said the US will not get involved in the matter.
India's high commission in Canada said on Wednesday that the country's officials will resume processing some types of visa applications for Canadians applying from across the country as well as abroad.
It said the actions not only impact India-Canada relations but also encourage a climate of violence and criminality in Canada to the detriment of its own citizens.
According to several media reports, gunshots were fired at the residence of the son of Satish Kumar, the president of Lakshmi Narayan Mandir, in Surrey on Wednesday.
India has summoned Canadian high commissioner in New Delhi over propaganda material, including posters, containing threats to Indian diplomats being circulated in Canada and has served a demarche to the Justin Trudeau government.
The United States has said there ought to be a full and fair investigation into Canada's allegations that the Indian government was involved in the killing of a separatist Sikh leader in British Columbia earlier this year.
Trudeau said that there was a commitment to work together with India to deal with some "very important issues".
Nijjar was a close associate of Gurdeep Singh alias Deepa Heranwala, who was involved in the killing of around 200 people in Punjab during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Vikas Yadav, 39, was employed by the Cabinet Secretariat, which houses India's foreign intelligence service, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), the federal prosecutors claimed on Thursday in an indictment filed in a US court in New York.
Canadian Member of Parliament Chandra Arya also condemned the violence and said that a "red line has been crossed" by Khalistani extremists, highlighting the rise of brazen violent extremism in Canada.
The 'deliberate attack' on a Hindu temple in Canada sparked strong condemnation in India on Monday, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking the Canadian government to ensure justice and uphold the rule of law.
India's High Commissioner to Canada, Sanjay Kumar Verma reiterated New Delhi's stand on the diplomatic standoff with Canada, and urged Ottawa to release evidence backing up its allegation regarding the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
A private agency hired by India to carry out initial scrutiny of visa applications of Canadians on Thursday put out a note on its website on suspension of visa services but hours later withdrew it.
"When it comes to the Canadian matter, we have made clear that the allegations are extremely serious and they need to be taken seriously. We wanted to see the government of India cooperate with Canada in its investigation. Obviously, they have not chosen that path," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters at his daily news conference.
She said India was asked to waive diplomatic and consular immunity and cooperate in the investigation but refused.
India also accused Canada of allowing "celebration and glorification" of violence, expressing concerns over the security of Indian diplomats in that country, and said it expects Ottawa to ensure that they are able to carry out their responsibilities without fear.
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