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India and Canada have appointed new Supreme Commissioners of the countries to each other, in the last step to restore connections strained by the murder of Sikhist separatist leader in Vancouver’s suburb in 2023.
The previous Supreme Commissioner of India left Canada last October after Ottawa expelled him, connecting six diplomats to the murder of Hardip Singh Nijar – although Delhi insisted that he was withdrawn.
On the same day, India ordered six senior Canadian diplomats, including the Supreme Commissioner.
The mutual disposal of the best diplomats last year marked an unprecedented low level in an otherwise heart connection.
Nijar, designated a terrorist from India in 2020, was shot dead by two artillerymen in front of a Sikhist temple in Vancouver in June 2023.
The links between the two countries have worsened months later, after former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau claims that “credible accusations” linking Indian government agents to Nijar’s murder.
India called the allegations “absurd and motivated” and accused Canada of providing asylum to Sikhist separatists.
At his first meeting in Canada in June, Prime Minister Modi and Trudeau’s heir Mark Carney agreed to restore senior diplomats, a sign of thawing in relations.
Ottawa has now identified Christopher Kuther as his new envoy in Delhi, while India appoints Dinesh K Patnak, currently ambassador to Spain, as his representative in Canada.
Canada Foreign Minister Anita Anand said Mr. Kuther’s appointment is part of a “step-by-step approach to deepen a diplomatic commitment” with India.
The India Foreign Ministry said that Pattak is “expected to undertake the task soon”.
India sharply criticizes Canada to tolerate the pro-Halistan movement, saying that Ottawa has long been aware and observing such groups. The Khalistan movement calls for an independent homeland for Sikhi in India.
About 770,000 Sikhs, the home of the largest Sikh diaspora outside the Indian state of Pendjab, live in Canada.
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