India and Canada announce mutual expulsion of diplomats

On October 14, Canada’s Foreign Ministry announced the expulsion of six Indian diplomats, citing their alleged involvement in violent criminal activities. In response, the Indian Foreign Ministry released a statement demanding that six Canadian diplomats leave the country by a specified deadline, while also deciding to recall six of its own diplomats from Canada.

In its announcement, the Canadian Foreign Ministry stated that the Indian High Commissioner to Canada and five other diplomats were expelled based on solid evidence collected by local police. The statement emphasized that the Canadian authorities were seeking cooperation from India to waive diplomatic and consular immunity in order to further their investigation. However, with India’s refusal to comply and in light of concerns for the safety of Canadian citizens, Canada issued expulsion orders for the six diplomats.

Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly remarked that the decision to expel the Indian diplomats was made after careful consideration, based on clear and specific evidence linked to the case of the murder of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada.

Later that evening, India’s Foreign Ministry stated that the Indian government required the six diplomats from Canada, including the interim chargé d’affaires, to exit India by 11:59 PM on October 19. Earlier that day, the Indian Foreign Ministry had also announced the recall of six of its diplomats from Canada, expressing a lack of confidence in the Canadian government’s commitment to ensuring the safety of Indian diplomats.