The Indian Ministry of External Affairs has strongly condemned a fraudulent memo circulating on social media that falsely links Indian diplomats to violent crimes against pro-Khalistan elements abroad. The 2023 document, which has been falsely attributed to former Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra, claims that Indian diplomats were involved in activities aimed at targeting Sikh extremists in Canada.
The Indian government has labeled the memo a fabrication and has refuted any such communication. No such memo has been issued by Government of India, the MEA said.
"The said GOI communication is FAKE," the External Publicity and Public Diplomacy Division (XP Division) of the MEA said.
The purported memo, which dates back to April 2023, allegedly asks Indian diplomats to 'cultivate' Indian diaspora groups in Canada, US, UK, Germany, France, etc. 'as vital force in the street confrontations with Sikh extremists'.
It goes on to mention names of various groupings of the diaspora include the Indo-Canada Association (ICA), Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC), TiE Silicon Valley (TiE SV), and USIBC amongst others.
Relations between India and Canada have been severely strained since September of last year, when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau publicly alleged the “potential” involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistan extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. India swiftly rejected these claims, labeling them as “absurd.”
Nijjar, who was designated a terrorist by NIA in 2020, was shot and killed outside a Gurudwara in Surrey in June 2023. New Delhi maintains that the core issue in the ongoing tensions is Canada's failure to curb the activities of pro-Khalistan groups operating freely on Canadian soil.
In response to Canada's accusations, India expelled six Canadian diplomats, withdrew its high commissioner Sanjay Verma, and recalled other “targeted” officials, strongly rejecting Ottawa's charges.
