Canada backstabbed India, its behaviour 'the pits': Envoy

CALLING Canada's behaviour "the pits", India's recalled high commissioner Sanjay Verma says that New Delhi was backstabbed and treated in a most unprofessional manner by a country that is supposed to be a friendly democracy.

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He told PTI that "a handful" of supporters of Khalistan have turned the ideology into a criminal enterprise, which indulges gun-running and human trafficking and yet the Canadian authorities turn a blind eye because they comprise a vocal vote bank for local politicians.

Verma was declared a "person of interest" by Canada on October 13 in its investigation into the June 2023 killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen who has been declared a Khalistani terrorist by India. Before Canada could take further action, New Delhi recalled Verma and five other diplomats.

Verma, an IIT grad and a nuclear scientist, has previously served as India's ambassador to Japan and Sudan.