India’s territorial integrity must be respected, says Canada

Amid strained diplomatic ties between New Delhi and Ottawa, Canadian Deputy Foreign Minister David Morrison has said that India’s territorial integrity must be respected, The Indian Express reported on Monday.

Speaking at a public hearing of the Foreign Interference Commission in Ottawa on October 4, Morrison said that Canada’s policy was clear. “There’s one India, and that’s been made very clear.”

The independent commission was set up by the Prime Minister Justin Trudeau-led government in September 2023 to look into alleged meddling by foreign countries, including China and India, in Canada’s general elections in 2019 and 2021.

In September 2023, Trudeau told his country’s parliament that intelligence agencies were actively pursuing “credible allegations” tying agents of the Indian government to the murder of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada.

Nijjar was a supporter of Khalistan, an independent Sikh nation sought by some groups. He was the head of the Khalistan Tiger Force, which is designated a terrorist outfit in India.

New Delhi rejected Canada’s allegations as “absurd and motivated” and said that they were an attempt by Ottawa to divert attention from the fact that it was providing shelter to those threatening India’s sovereignty.

India had also ordered Canada to withdraw more than 40 diplomatic staff from the country.

New Delhi has for long complained that Khalistani outfits are being allegedly given a free...

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