Canada now accuses Amit Shah of conspiring against Sikh separatists

The Canadian government now claims that Home Affairs Minister Amit Shah is behind plots against Sikh separatists on Canadian soil.

Retired by the Government of India Canadaprevious accusations as baseless, denying any involvement.

According to The Washington Post, Canadian officials alleged that Shah was behind a campaign of violence and intimidation against Sikh separatists in Canada.

Canada’s deputy foreign minister, David Morrison, told a parliamentary committee on Tuesday that he told the American newspaper that Shah was behind the plots.

“The journalist called me and asked if he (Shah) was that person. I have confirmed that it was this person,” Morrison told the committee, without providing further details or evidence. The Indian High Commission in Ottawa and India’s Ministry of External Affairs are yet to issue a statement on the matter.

Sikh separatists are demanding India carve out an independent homeland known as Khalistan. Insurgency in India in the 1980s and 1990s killed tens of thousands of people. This period included the anti-Sikh riots of 1984, which left thousands dead after then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards after she ordered security forces to storm the holiest Sikh temple to drive out Sikh separatists. In mid-October, Canada expelled Indian diplomats, linking them to the 2023 killing of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijar on Canadian soil. India also ordered the expulsion of Canadian diplomats.

On October 13, Canada declared Indian High Commissioner Sanjay Verma a “person of interest” in the investigation into the June 2023 killing of Hardeep Singh Nijar, a Canadian citizen who was designated by India as a Khalistan terrorist.

Before Canada could take further action, New Delhi recalled Verma and five other similarly named diplomats.

In response, India also expelled six Canadian diplomats. The diplomatic spat further escalated when Ottawa hinted at possible sanctions against India, which has denied the allegations, including those made by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Canadian authorities have also accused Indian agents of involvement in “murders, extortion and acts of violence targeting Khalistan supporters, and have even tried to link the Bishnoi gang to unspecified criminal activity on Canadian soil.”