June 18, 2023: Hardeep Singh Nijjar, 45, was shot dead outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, a Vancouver suburb with a large Sikh population. He was a Canadian citizen who campaigned for the creation of an independent Sikh homeland by separation from India.
September 1, 2023: A Canadian trade official says Canada has halted talks on a proposed trade treaty with India, an unexpected move that comes nearly three months after the two countries said they would sign a deal in 2023. Planning to seal the preliminary agreement.
September 10, 2023: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed strong concerns about the Sikh separatist protests in Canada to Prime Minister Trudeau on the sidelines of the G20 summit in New Delhi.
September 18, 2023: Trudeau tells Parliament that Canada is “actively pursuing credible allegations” linking Indian government agents to Nijjar’s murder.
September 19, 2023: India rejects Trudeau’s claim as “absurd”. Each country expels a diplomat in a tit-for-tat move, with Canada expelling India’s top intelligence official in the country, while India expelled its Canadian counterpart.
September 22, 2023: India suspends issuance of new visas for Canadians and asks Ottawa to reduce its diplomatic presence in India. India resumed issuing visas after two months.
October 19, 2023: Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said Canada has recalled 41 diplomats from India amid the controversy over Nijjar’s killing.
October 29, 2023: Thousands of Sikhs gathered in Surrey, British Columbia at the same gurdwara where Nijjar was killed to vote in an informal referendum on the creation of an independent Sikh state.
November 21, 2023: India’s anti-terrorism agency files a case against Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a Sikh separatist, saying he warned Air India passengers that their lives were in danger in video messages shared on social media. Is.
November 22, 2023: A senior Biden administration official says US officials foiled a plot to kill Pannun in the United States and issues a warning to India over New Delhi government’s concerns.
February 5, 2024: India’s High Commissioner said in an interview with Canada’s Globe and Mail newspaper that India would not provide information to Canadian investigators on Nijjar’s murder unless Canada shares evidence.
April 30, 2024: The White House took seriously a Washington Post report that an Indian intelligence officer was directly involved in both the assassination of Nijjar and the failed plot to assassinate Pannun in the US.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs said the report contained “unwarranted and baseless allegations”.
May 3, 2024: Canadian police charge three people in connection with Nijjar’s murder, says a source directly familiar with the matter.
August 27, 2024 A prominent Sikh separatist says Canadian police have warned Nijjar associate Gurpatwant Singh Pannun of an increased threat to his life.
, reuters