Weeks before the India-Canada ties took a nosedive, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) director Vanessa Lloyd acknowledged that Pakistan played a role in influencing the country’s politics and that Islamabad’s actions were tied to their support of Khalistanis.
A video of Lloyd’s remarks, which she delivered last month before the country’s Foreign Interference Commission, making rounds on social media as the diplomatic row over the killing of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar escalated on Tuesday.
“Engagement of Pakistan is consistently in balance with trying to reduce the influence of India,” said Lloyd on September 27 during a session of the foreign interference panel. “The influence of Pakistan is directly related to the support of Khalistani extremism,” she added, during the testimony, which was part of a broader probe into foreign interference in Canada’s electoral processes.
This video went viral as Ottawa hinted at possible sanctions against India given certain findings in the case and New Delhi forcefully trashed the allegations including those levelled by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The Canadian authorities also accused Indian agents of involvement in “homicides, extortion and violent acts” targeting pro-Khalistan supporters and even attempted to link the Bishnoi gang to unspecified criminal activities on Canadian soil.
Hit rock bottom
As the ties between the two countries hit rock bottom, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly did not rule out imposing sanctions against India saying “everything is on the table”. On its part, India strongly rejected attempts by Canadian authorities to link Indian agents with criminal gangs in Canada with Indian official even saying that Ottawa’s assertion that it shared evidence with New Delhi in the Nijjar case was simply not true.
New Delhi also rejected Trudeau’s allegations that India was engaging in activities including carrying out covert operations targeting Canadian nationals in his country. At a press conference, Trudeau, pointing fingers at India on the Nijjar case, said Canada will never tolerate the involvement of a foreign government in threatening and killing Canadian citizens on Canadian soil.
On Monday, India expelled six Canadian diplomats and announced withdrawing its high commissioner from Canada after dismissing Ottawa’s allegations linking the envoy to a probe into the killing of Nijjar. Joly, replying to a question at Trudeau’s media briefing, did not rule out further action against India. “So today was a really important step. When you look at what is available in our toolbox, expelling diplomats is one of the highest and toughest measures a country can take under the Vienna convention…Everything is on the table,” she said
