Trudeau's circle includes Khalistani extremists, says recalled Indian envoy

Recalled Indian High Commissioner to Canada Sanjay Verma said Khalistani extremists were being shielded in Canada by the Trudeau government for domestic political reasons.

In Short

• Sanjay Verma says extremists being shielded by Trudeau government
• Says Canada has not provided hard evidence on Hardeep Nijjar killing
• Says Khalistani extremists resorted to hooliganism outside Indian consulates

Recalled Indian High Commissioner Sanjay Verma said Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's circle included Khalistani extremists and anti-India elements. In an exclusive interview with India Today, Verma said Khalistani extremists were being shielded in Canada by the Trudeau government for domestic political reasons.

"Justin Trudeau has a number of friends who are anti-Indian elements and Khalistani extremists. He has such a circle. When he visited India in 2018, we know what happened. There are people around him who have sympathy towards Khalistan," Verma said.

In 2018, Khalistani sympathiser Jaspal Atwal was invited to official events attended by Trudeau during his visit to India.

The strain on India-Canada ties slumped dramatically earlier this month after the Canadian government said Indian diplomats, including the High Commissioner, were "persons of interest" in the probe into the murder of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. India responded by withdrawing these diplomats, and expelling six Canadian diplomats from the country.

On Canada's charge that India has not cooperated in the Nijjar probe, Verma said, "We have not seen any hard evidence which can be justifiable legally shared with us. We were only carrying out our duties as per the Vienna convention framework. We have not done anything to violate the convention."

In fact, Trudeau himself conceded that his government only had "intelligence" and not "evidentiary proof" of links between Indian government officials and Nijjar's killing.

The Vienna Convention is an international treaty that outlines the rights and obligations of consular officers and the operation of consulates.

The recalled envoy said Khalistani extremists were resorting to hooliganism outside the Indian consulates and diplomats were intimidated through social media.

"There were continuous threats to us and anyone could have been harmed. The Canadian government did provide some security to me as the High Commissioner and two consul generals in Toronto and Vancouver. But we had many more colleagues than just the three of us," he said.