India-Canada relations have sunk to a new low following the allegation of the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that New Delhi was involved in the killing of pro-Khalistan leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil, outside the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara Sahib in Surrey, British Columbia. India has denied the allegations.
Trudeau is heading a minority government supported by 24 members of the New Democratic Party (NDP), led by Jagmeet Singh, whose political agenda include decriminalising drug use and repeal of Canada’s Anti-terrorism Act. Meanwhile, another wanted fugitive turned gangster, Sukhdool Singh Duneka, was reportedly killed in an inter-gang rivalry in Canada.
Trudeau doesn’t seem to be new to diplomatic faux pas.
In 2018, Canadian foreign minister Chrystia Freeland posted a tweet (translated into Arabic and resent by the Canadian embassy in Riyadh) criticising the Saudi government for arresting a Saudi human rights activist. Saudi Arabia ordered the Canadian ambassador to leave within 24 hours, recalled its diplomat, froze all flights to Canada, put all bilateral trade on hold, asked Saudi students in Canadian universities to relocate at government’s expense, and called for immediate unconditional apology. Canada sought help from the UAE, UK, and US to diffuse the issue but none of them obliged. Later, the US is said to have mediated and brought the two estranged countries to the negotiating table.
In yet another diplomatic row between China and Canada, Trudeau had to eat humble pie when Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou, the daughter of billionaire and Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei, was arrested on a US warrant in 2018 and kept under house arrest in Canada. Beijing promptly jailed Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, as bargaining chips, accusing them of espionage by China and released them only after securing Meng’s release.
Canada cannot follow double standards in dealing with terror outfits and how they are tackled by the West and India.
Also read: West can’t allow Khalistan’s revival in its backyard and expect normal relations with India
Double standards exposed
Canada had celebrated official US security forces (watched by then-POTUS) eliminating Osama Bin Laden on Pakistani soil. Then-Canadian PM Stephen Harper said that the death of bin Laden “secures a sense of justice for the families of the 24 Canadians murdered (on September 11, 2001)”, and added that “Canada receives the news of the death of Osama bin Laden with sober satisfaction”. However, in the case of a Khalistani leader killed by unknown persons, Trudeau has issued a foot in the mouth statement. One country’s terrorist cannot be another country’s political ally.
On 1 August 2022, US President Joe Biden announced the killing of al-Qaeda terrorist Ayman al-Zawahiri in a CIA drone strike in Kabul, Afghanistan. Trudeau tweeted: “The death of Ayman al-Zawahiri is a step toward a safer world. Canada will keep working with our global partners to counter terrorist threats, promote peace and security, and keep people here at home and around the world safe.” The spirit to “keep working with our global partners to counter terrorist threats” seems to have evaporated within a year.
Following the diplomatic acrimony between the two democracies, New Delhi, reacting to the expulsion of an Indian diplomat from Canada, retaliated by expelling a Canadian diplomat. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has also issued an advisory for Indian nationals and Indian students in Canada. There are reports of a video of Gurpatwant Pannun, designated as a terrorist in India, a self-styled legal counsel of a banned outfit Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) warning “Indo-Hindu leave Canada; go to India”. The link between the Canadian PM’s irresponsible, immature, highly undiplomatic and politically motivated statement and the SFJ’s warning cannot be overlooked.
Incidentally, in July 2020, this SFJ leader had staged a protest and burnt the Indian tricolour in Canada. The group had mailed the remains of the Indian flag to the Indian High Commissioner in Ottawa. It had claimed that “remains of Indian tricolour were mailed to Ajay Bisaria, Indian High Commissioner in Ottawa as a symbolic gesture to remind India that Canada considers Khalistan as a political opinion. However, a spokesperson of the Canadian foreign ministry had rejected the SFJ’s ‘Referendum 2020’ campaign and said, “Canada respects the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of India, and the government of Canada will not recognise the referendum.”
If the Canadian PM is not aware of the links between drug trafficking, the ISI of Pakistan, and pro-Khalistan elements, he is sure to pay a heavy political and economic price for it. According to journalist Federico Giuliani, “In December 2019, Punjab police busted an international gang of drug smugglers operating from Canada, Punjab and Sydney. The police had stated that the arrests in Greater Toronto Area came after a year-long investigation conducted by Canada’s York Regional Police in coordination with Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Peel regional police and the US Drug Enforcement Administration. The Canadian drug trafficking network, according to the police, extended to the US and India. The street value of the seized drugs was estimated to be more than $61million and it was termed as a largest international drug takedown in their history.”
Also read: 1998 sanctions, civil nuclear deal, Sikh extremism — the ups & downs in India-Canada relations
India needs to be watchful
The Punjab police, anti-narcotics wings of the state, central government, and other security agencies will have to increase vigilance as the pro-Khalistan outfits and drug cartels will try to vitiate the atmosphere closer to the 2024 Lok Sabha election. New Delhi will also have to inform some of the Western world’s capitals, especially the US, UK, and Australia, and those who have been approached by Trudeau for support of his allegations about India, of the dangers of supporting and meekly submitting to the threats of terrorist outfits and drug trafficking cartels for political dividends.
India’s increasing salience as a growing power in the global arena is not a secret. The recent Delhi Declaration adopted at the hugely successful G20 summit is proof of India’s negotiating skills as it mentioned the Russia-Ukraine conflict without naming or condemning Russia, as a powerful section of the Western bloc wanted. The West is keenly watching the India-Canada row and could be deeply worried about the possible escalation of the diplomatic confrontation spilling over to the North versus South divide. Canada reportedly tried getting the support of the Five Eyes nations for a joint condemnation of India over its alleged role in the killing of the terrorist Nijjar. None of them appear to have responded positively to Canada’s request, later denied. According to The Washington Post, Canada asked the US to condemn India for Nijjar’s killing, which Washington didn’t do because it didn’t want to “anger India”.
India as the fourth largest economy, endowed with a vast consumer base and immense manufacturing capabilities, is seen as the fulcrum for not only reviving the economies of the Indo-Pacific region but also act as a bulwark against the ‘not so peaceful’ rise of China. A full-scale India-Canada diplomatic conflict could upset the calculations of the Western world, which would want a speedier and amicable resolution of the issue.
Though India-Canada EXIM figures equal at $4 billion, the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between the two countries could boost two-way trade by as much as $6.5 billion, yielding a GDP gain of $3.8 billion to $5.9 billion for Canada by 2035. Besides goods trade, more than 600 Canadian companies have a strong presence in India, while more than 30 Indian companies have invested billions of dollars in Canada, creating thousands of jobs. Both countries signed a “Totalisation Agreement” in 2012, which has been effective since 2015, much to the benefit of employees of Indian companies in Canada. CPP Investments, the company that invests the assets of the Canada Pension Plan, while explaining the rationale behind their investment plans in India, says, “With roughly 17.5% of the world’s population and an economy whose growth has outpaced the world, India represents a key market for us. India has an advantageous demographic profile, a growing middle class, and a healthy financial system.”
A politically unstable and weak Justin Trudeau is free to sacrifice his country’s economic benefits at the altar of political expediency. He has erred in haste and will repent at leisure after imminent political defeat soon.
Seshadri Chari is the former editor of ‘Organiser’. He tweets @seshadrichari. Views are personal.
(Edited by Prashant)