India withdraws high commissioner, diplomats from Canada

In a sharp escalation in bilateral diplomatic faceoff, India today announced its decision to withdraw its High Commissioner and other “targeted” diplomats and officials in Canada.
“We have no faith in the current Canadian government’s commitment to ensure their security. Therefore, the government of India has decided to withdraw the High Commissioner and other targeted diplomats and officials,” the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement, reports our New Delhi correspondent.
It said the Canadian Charge d’Affaires in New Delhi was summoned by MEA secretary (east) this evening and was informed that “the baseless targeting of the Indian high commissioner and other diplomats and officials in Canada was completely unacceptable.”
“It was underlined that in an atmosphere of extremism and violence, the Trudeau government’s actions endangered their safety,” according to the statement.
The ministry said it has also conveyed to the Canadian diplomat that “India reserves the right to take further steps in response to the Trudeau government’s support for extremism, violence and separatism against India.”
Earlier in the day today, the MEA issued a separate statement firmly rejecting Canada’s allegations suggesting the involvement of Indian High Commissioner to that country Sanjay Kumar Verma and some other diplomats in a plot to kill a Sikh separatist in that country, describing them as “preposterous” and “centred around Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s “political agenda and vote bank politics.”
India’s high commissioner to Canada and other Indian diplomats in that country are “persons of interest” in a matter related to a Canadian investigation, the MEA’s earlier statement said today quoting a Canadian diplomatic communication.