Canada accuses India’s Amit Shah over campaign targeting Sikh separatists

Ottawa says the close ally of India’s PM is involved in an intimidation campaign against Sikh separatists on Canadian soil. Indian sources call the allegations ‘flimsy’.

Canada has accused Indian Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah of being behind a campaign of violence and intimidation targeting Sikh activists, in a move likely to extend a recent diplomatic spat between Ottawa and New Delhi.

Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister David Morrison confirmed to the members of the national security committee late on Tuesday that the government considers Shah – considered India’s second-highest leader and a close ally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi – the architect of the campaign against Sikh separatists in Canada, which has included the assassination of an activist.

India has not so far responded, however, Reuters news agency reported on Wednesday that government officials had rejected the accusation.

Morrison told committee members that he had confirmed Shah’s name to The Washington Post, which had earlier reported the allegations.

“The journalist called me and asked if it was that person. I confirmed it was that person,” Morrison told the committee. He did not reveal the evidence behind Canada’s allegation.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has previously said Canada has credible evidence that agents of the Indian government were involved in the murder of Canadian Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia in June 2023.

The assassination and aftermath have caused a diplomatic spat between the two countries.

Canada expelled Indian diplomats that it linked to the campaign it claims has targeted Sikhs. India responded with its own expulsion of Canadian officials.

The United States also charged a former Indian intelligence officer, Vikash Yadav, for allegedly directing a foiled plot to murder Sikh separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a dual US-Canadian citizen and Indian critic in New York City.

Nathalie Drouin, Trudeau’s national security adviser, told the security committee on Tuesday that Canada had evidence the Indian government had been gathering information on Indian nationals and Canadian citizens in Canada through diplomatic channels and proxies.

‘Flimsy’

Canadian authorities have in the past said that they have shared evidence with India, but officials in New Delhi have repeatedly denied that and called the allegations absurd.

India did not immediately comment on the accusation against Shah. However, Reuters quoted unnamed government sources who said that New Delhi considers Canada’s evidence to be “very weak” and “flimsy” and that it does not expect it to cause any trouble for the powerful interior minister.

Modi’s government has branded Sikh separatists “terrorists” and threats to its security. The activists demand an independent homeland, known as Khalistan, to be carved out of India.

An armed rebellion during the 1980s and 1990s killed tens of thousands. In 1984, anti-Sikh riots killed thousands following the assassination of then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards after she ordered security forces to storm the holiest Sikh temple to flush out Sikh separatists.

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Al Jazeera and news agencies