26 extradition requests for Lawrence Bishnoi gang pending with Canada: MEA
- In Reports
- 10:58 PM, Oct 17, 2024
- Myind Staff
In a recent development, India responded sharply to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's statements regarding Canada's commitment to the principle of "One India." Despite Trudeau's assertion that Canada supports India's territorial integrity, Indian officials expressed skepticism, highlighting a perceived discrepancy between his words and actions. This exchange underscores ongoing tensions in diplomatic relations between the two nations.
During a press briefing, Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, characterised the deteriorating relationship between India and Canada as an “evolving situation.” He indicated that New Delhi has specific measures it could undertake should Ottawa choose to escalate the matter through diplomatic sanctions. This statement reflects India's readiness to respond to any further tensions in bilateral relations.
On Trudeau’s ‘One India’ remark, made while he was testifying before the Foreign Interference Commission Wednesday, Jaiswal said, “We have seen those comments of Prime Minister Trudeau that he believes in the ‘One India’ policy, but so far the actions that we have requested against anti-India elements…who actually go against ‘One India’, who call for the dismemberment and disunity of the country, who espouse separatist ideology…no action has been taken.”
“In a sense, there is a difference, there is a gap between action and words here,” Jaiswal further said, as the chill in diplomatic relations between the two countries continues over Ottawa’s allegations of a link between Indian government officials and the 2023 killing of Sikh separatist and India-designated terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
The diplomatic dispute between New Delhi and Ottawa intensified earlier this week when the Canadian government requested India to waive diplomatic immunity for its high commissioner, Sanjay Kumar Verma, along with five other diplomats, designating them as "persons of interest" in the investigation into the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. In response, New Delhi recalled its diplomats on Monday and expelled six senior Canadian diplomats, including the acting high commissioner and the deputy high commissioner.
While Ottawa contends that Indian diplomats were expelled, Jaiswal clarified during the Thursday briefing that India had withdrawn its diplomats prior to any expulsion notice being issued by Canada.
Jaiswal said India had informed the acting high commissioner that New Delhi had “no faith that the Canadian government would look after the safety of our diplomats and therefore we had taken the decision to withdraw our high commissioner and along with him five other diplomats”.
“Subsequently to that, we saw a communication from the Canadian side asking them to leave. But we had withdrawn our diplomats before their decision,” the MEA spokesperson added.
As the diplomatic row escalated, Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly, alongside Prime Minister Trudeau, stated during a joint press briefing on Monday that “everything is on the table,” including the potential for diplomatic sanctions against Indian diplomats. This remark highlights Canada's willingness to consider a range of measures in response to the ongoing tensions with India.
In response to this, Jaiswal said, “Well, we will see. This is an evolving situation on how things go. There are certain actions that lie in the domain of the Canadian government, there are actions that lie in our domain as well, so we will see.”
The MEA spokesperson emphasised that over the past fifteen years, India has submitted 26 extradition requests for criminals who have fled to Canada, all of which remain unresolved. Among those India seeks to extradite are Gurjit Singh, Gurjinder Singh, Gurpreet Singh, Lakhbir Singh (Landa), Arshdeep Singh Gill, and members of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang.
Jaiswal noted that several individuals on India's extradition list face terrorism charges. However, he stated that Ottawa has yet to take any action on New Delhi's requests.
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