New Delhi: Sikh separatists in Canada are deep-state agents cultivated by Canadian intelligence, former Indian high commissioner to the country Sanjay Kumar Verma has alleged, while reiterating that the G7 country has not shared any evidence with New Delhi over its allegations of links between Indian officials and the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
In an interview to Canadian broadcaster CTV News, recorded before his departure from Canada, Verma said, “This is my allegation and I am not giving you any evidence on that, I also know that these Khalistani extremists and terrorists are deep assets of CSIS (Canadian Security Intelligence Service).”
The former high commissioner levelled these allegations, without sharing any evidence, in a manner similar to what he pointed out about Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s claims about links between Indian government officials and the killing of Nijjar.
Verma and five other Indian diplomats have returned to India, following their withdrawal from Canada last Monday. In a communication with New Delhi, Ottawa had alleged that Verma and the five others are “persons of interest” in the investigations into the killing of Nijjar—an Indian designated terrorist. The Canadian government had further requested India to waive diplomatic immunity to allow these six diplomats to be questioned by authorities.
Speaking on the diplomatic immunity waiver, Verma said, “I want to know the evidence, but there has to be a way in seeking that evidence and there has to be a way in confirming that evidence. The first point is please show me the evidence…Unless I know what I am being asked for, how do I prepare my defence?”
“They [Canadian government] did not even share why I am a person of interest,” added the former high commissioner, laying the blame for the current diplomatic kerfuffle on the government of Canada.
The Indian diplomat also condemned Nijjar’s murder, and “with full responsibility”, denied that New Delhi ever sought to kill any Sikh separatist in Canada. He further added that these separatists were monitored by the High Commission through complete “overt” means.
“It is all overt. There is nothing covert. It is all overt. We read the newspaper, we read their statements, we read their social media posts and we infer from there,” declared Verma on the allegations of monitoring the activities of Sikh separatists.
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‘No evidence shared with India yet’
From the beginning of the interview, Verma defended India’s stance that not a “shred of evidence” has been shared with New Delhi by Ottawa till date, and that even at the meeting with National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, held in Singapore on 12 October, no such information was brought up.
“We needed to see some evidence on the basis of which we can converse with our Canadian counterparts. Unfortunately, not a shred of evidence has been shared with us. Any evidence that has been shared has to be legally acceptable,” said Verma. “Unfortunately, we have not gotten anything from any Canadian official, which can lead us to a better spot.”
The former Indian high commissioner also described a situation, where the Canadian authorities sought to travel to India on 8 October, 2024, sharing all the forms for the same that very day, when a visa for such a meeting requires at least a week to process.
Verma added that no agenda for the meeting was further shared with him or the Indian government for the meeting, which led to the two sides meeting in Singapore days later. He said that the allegations made by the Canadian government are “politically motivated” with a “large mistrust” of Trudeau and “his team” from New Delhi.
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)
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