India said on Tuesday it was ready to examine evidence presented by Canada, which accuses it of involvement in the killing of a Sikh leader near Vancouver, while reiterating its criticism of Ottawa.
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Asked whether India would examine the evidence submitted by Canada, the head of Indian diplomacy, who visited New York for the United Nations General Assembly, assured that New Delhi would examine the evidence submitted by each country.
“If there is an incident that is problematic and someone gives me concrete information as a government, I would of course investigate it,” Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said.
Ottawa’s allegations, described by India as “absurd”, led to a major diplomatic crisis between the two countries, marked by mutual expulsions of diplomats and the Indian government’s temporary suspension of processing visa applications in Canada.
“We have actually harassed the Canadian authorities, we have given them a lot of information about those responsible for organized crime who operate from Canada,” assured the head of Indian diplomacy, referring to the Sikh independence movement, which is advocating the creation of a state , “Khalistan”, in North India.
“Our concern is just the fact that Canada has been very permissive for political reasons,” he charged.
“We find ourselves in a situation in which our diplomats are threatened and our consulates are attacked,” he criticized.
Hundreds of Sikhs demonstrated against the Indian government in front of India’s diplomatic missions in Canada on Monday.
Canada is home to the largest Sikh community in the world outside of India. In 2021, 770,000 Canadians claimed membership, representing 2% of the country’s population.