The Highlights:
Tensions High at Secret Diplomatic Meeting
The high-stakes diplomatic confrontation between Canada and India now seems to have reached a new level with revelations of a secret meeting between Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and officials from Canada in Singapore. A closed-door consultation to apparently address the rising concerns over the murder of pro-Khalistan separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar has come as a surprise with claims that the notorious Lawrence Bishnoi gang carried out the assassination on apparently Indian government instructions.
This month, Canadian officials produced evidence that pinned India’s involvement in the murder of Nijjar in June 2023 in Surrey, British Columbia. Discussions also touched on a wider campaign of violence against Sikh separatists across Canada where Bishnoi gang allegedly serve as proxy for Indian intelligence services.
Lawrence Bishnoi: An International Criminal Syndicate
Notorious gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, lodged behind the bars in India, has been associated with several high-profile killings, including the murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala, whose body was found hanging from a tree on June 29. His criminal network extends far beyond Indian borders as Canadian law enforcement contended that his gang is now an organized effort by pro-Khalistan individuals in Canada to eliminate figures who are proponents of Khalistan in Canada.
At the Singapore meeting, Doval said that he knew Bishnoi. Instead he later admitted he would go out of the prison very easily and create violence from there. Toronto says that the Indian government itself had been proactively recruiting Bishnoi gang for the targeted killings of which Hardeep Nijjar’s murder has been one.
The Murder of Hardeep Nijjar and its Aftermath
Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a vocal proponent of the Khalistan movement—a separatist campaign advocating for an independent Sikh state in India’s Punjab—was shot dead in what police described as a “targeted” attack. His killing has strained diplomatic relations between India and Canada, particularly after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused India of being involved in the assassination.
This charge, which New Delhi denies in strong terms, has triggered a series of retaliatory moves by which both countries have kicked out the top-most diplomats from each other’s countries. The situation has unbearably put pressure on diplomatic relations, and this new revelation about Bishnoi gang only fuelled the fire.
Charge of Indian Spies
Canadian authorities claim that Indian diplomats of Sikh separatists people gathered intelligence and then used it later to identify targets for gang Bishnoi. Coordinated operation has lead to a series of violent incidents that has produced Nijjar’s murder and others attacks in attacks of pro-Khalistan figures. Police label operation as a part of much bigger trend of state-sponsored violence to smother dissent.
Speaking at the Singapore meeting, Canadian officials told the press that more evidence of its involvement would come out when the trials of the murderers of Nijjar begins. They however, admitted India had always denied and even described the allegations as politically motivated with intentions of damaging its international reputation.
A Diplomatic Quagmire
The diplomatic fallouts have fast followed the revelations. Both countries have been taking tit-for-tat measures, expelling diplomats and downgrading diplomatic relations. Meanwhile, Canada’s Prime Minister Trudeau continued to pressure India on the issue: underlining that “violence against Canadian citizens on the soil of Canada cannot be tolerated, regardless of the affiliations of the perpetrator.”.
Meanwhile, India has stood by its position that Canada is harbouring extremists and allowing its soil to be used for anti-India activities. The entry of a criminal network like the Bishnoi gang has complicated matters only more, raising questions on the extent to which organized crime is being used to pursue political ends.
The Way Forward
As both countries steel themselves for the next installment in this developing diplomatic crisis, far-reaching implications could stem from these claims. More revelations are likely to be brought to the public’s attention through the trial of suspects allegedly connected with Nijjar’s murder where the internal mechanisms of this supposed interface between Indian intelligence and organized crime might come to the surface. Still, neither side appears willing to blink first.
The international community will be paying attention to the high-stakes geopolitical combat between these two nations, despite remaining largely on the sidelines. In the meantime, the tensions have left the Sikh diaspora in Canada vulnerable and concerned about further violence.
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