Amit Shah, Indian Home Minister and a senior figure in India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, has been accused by Canada of plotting against Sikh separatists in Canada. Reuters
Amit Shah, Indian Home Minister and a senior figure in India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, has been accused by Canada of plotting against Sikh separatists in Canada. Reuters

Canada accuses India's Home Minister Amit Shah of targeting Sikh separatists



Canada accused India's Home Minister Amit Shah of involvement in the plots to harass Sikh separatists in the country, a move that will further sour the diplomatic ties between the two nations.

Canadian Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister David Morrison on Tuesday told a parliamentary panel that he named Mr Shah in an interview with US-based Washington Post newspaper. The newspaper had claimed that a “senior official in India” had “authorised the intelligence-gathering missions and attacks on Sikh separatists” in Canada.

“The journalist called me and asked me if it was that person [Mr Shah]. I confirmed it was,” Mr Morrison said, without providing further details or evidence.

The Indian government has not responded to the allegations or The National’s requests for a comment.

Mr Shah is a decades-long confidant of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and is considered a powerful political figure. He has been India's Home Minister since 2019.

While home minister of Gujurat state under then chief minister Mr Modi, Mr Shah was accused of ordering the extrajudicial killing of gangsters and jailed in 2010. He was exonerated in the courts on all cases in December 2014.

Canada has accused New Delhi in the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian Sikh separatist leader in British Columbia, who was shot dead by two men outside a Sikh temple in a suburb of Vancouver in 2023.

Mr Nijjar allegedly led the Khalistan Tiger Force, a group that seeks the creation of a Sikh homeland called Khalistan in the Punjab region. He was designated a terrorist by Indian authorities in 2020.

Nathalie Drouin, the national security adviser to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, also acknowledged that she had leaked details in this case to the paper. Testifying before the Commons public safety committee, Ms Drouin said she did not need Mr Trudeau’s authorisation to share the information, adding that it is not classified intelligence.

Mr Trudeau last year told the Canadian Parliament that Indian agents were involved in the killing but during a public inquiry this month he admitted that there was “no hard evidentiary proof”.

The Globe and Mail newspaper in Canada reported that Mr Shah was also connected to the killing of Sikh activist Sukhdool Singh Gill, who was shot in Winnipeg in September last year.

New Delhi has rejected the claims and accused Mr Trudeau of making wild accusations without any evidence and of damaging the two countries' ties.

Canada has the largest overseas community of Indian origin, with a population of 1.4 million. It has the highest number of Sikhs outside Punjab with about 770,000.

Mr Nijjar’s killing sparked a growing diplomatic rift, with the countries expelling each other’s diplomats after a Canadian announcement that Indian High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma was a “person of interest” in the case this month.

MATCH INFO

Alaves 1 (Perez 65' pen)

Real Madrid 2 (Ramos 52', Carvajal 69')

Normal People

Sally Rooney, Faber & Faber
 

UAE WARRIORS RESULTS

Featherweight

Azouz Anwar (EGY) beat Marcelo Pontes (BRA)

TKO round 2

Catchweight 90kg

Moustafa Rashid Nada (KSA) beat Imad Al Howayeck (LEB)

Split points decision

Welterweight

Gimbat Ismailov (RUS) beat Mohammed Al Khatib (JOR)

TKO round 1

Flyweight (women)

Lucie Bertaud (FRA) beat Kelig Pinson (BEL)

Unanimous points decision

Lightweight

Alexandru Chitoran (ROU) beat Regelo Enumerables Jr (PHI)

TKO round 1

Catchweight 100kg

Marc Vleiger (NED) beat Mohamed Ali (EGY)

Rear neck choke round 1

Featherweight

James Bishop (NZ) beat Mark Valerio (PHI)

TKO round 2

Welterweight

Abdelghani Saber (EGY) beat Gerson Carvalho (BRA)

TKO round 1

Middleweight

Bakhtiyar Abbasov (AZE) beat Igor Litoshik (BLR)

Unanimous points decision

Bantamweight

Fabio Mello (BRA) beat Mark Alcoba (PHI)

Unanimous points decision

Welterweight

Ahmed Labban (LEB) v Magomedsultan Magomedsultanov (RUS)

TKO round 1

Bantamweight

Trent Girdham (AUS) beat Jayson Margallo (PHI)

TKO round 3

Lightweight

Usman Nurmagomedov (RUS) beat Roman Golovinov (UKR)

TKO round 1

Middleweight

Tarek Suleiman (SYR) beat Steve Kennedy (AUS)

Submission round 2

Lightweight

Dan Moret (USA) v Anton Kuivanen (FIN)

TKO round 2

The stats: 2017 Jaguar XJ

Price, base / as tested Dh326,700 / Dh342,700

Engine 3.0L V6

Transmission Eight-speed automatic

Power 340hp @ 6,000pm

Torque 450Nm @ 3,500rpm

Fuel economy, combined 9.1L / 100km

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Director: Laila Abbas

Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum

Rating: 4/5

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Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.

When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.

How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
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Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode

Directors: Raj & DK

Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon

Rating: 4/5

The%20Hunger%20Games%3A%20The%20Ballad%20of%20Songbirds%20%26%20Snakes
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Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option 

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Updated: October 30, 2024, 11:24 AM

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