India-Canada relations frigid due to Pakistan

Ever since the diplomatically disastrous trip of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau''s to India two years ago, the New Delhi-Ottawa relations have been at an ebb. Reason: the increasing influence of Pakistan in Canada.

The Indo-Canadian bilateral relationship has soured so much that recently, in a trivial case, the country''s top intelligence agency Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) unsuccessfully attempted to get an Indian national''s application for citizenship rejected by accusing him of "covertly influencing" Canadian politicians against Khalistanis (Sikh separatists).

The Canadian court dismissed the accusations against the Indian national, who is an editor of a newspaper in New Delhi but the CSIS ensured that the allegation became the news in the Canadian press.

All this began, sources said, when Canadians of Khalistani-background and Pakistani- descent began to assume significant positions in the Liberal Party of Canada and especially, the Trudeau government.

The Defence Minister of Canada, Harjit Singh Sajjan and the Science and Technology Minister in the Trudeau government, have been publicly called Khalistani sympathizers by Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amrinder Singh. Even the Canadian opposition, New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jagmeet Singh is an open supporter of Khalistanis.

Source: https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/indiacanada-relations-frigid-due-to-pakistan/1807852