Sikh groups in Canada urge their government to not extend an invite to India for the upcoming G7 meeting unless India agrees on probing the killing of Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
The 2025 G7 Leaders’ Summit will be held in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada from June 15th to 17th.
Toronto-based Sikh Federation said that Canada should withhold any invitation “until India substantially co-operates with criminal investigations in Canada.”
The World Sikh Organization too has expressed concerns about the federal Liberals seeking deeper ties with India.
It may be recalled that during the past five years India has been knifed as a guest for all G7 Summits.
India has uptil now refrained from on commenting whether it has got an invite for the Summit or its participation.
Those who have confirmed their participation include France, United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United States, along with the president of the European Commission.
Canadian government has so far not shared a list of who all they have invited outside the core group of like-minded democracies.
Reports suggest that South Africa, Ukraine, Australia have been invited and that Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and Australian Prime Minister Albanese are expected to attend.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been invited to every G7 leaders’ summit since 2019. Canada and India have signalled a possible thaw in relations after months of tensions.
Prime Minister Modi was amongst the first leaders in the world to congratulate Mark Carney and his Liberal Party for winning Canada’s parliamentary elections. This marks the first gesture or acknowledgement from the Indian government towards Canada since the strained bilateral ties left by the Justin Trudeau administration.
Meanwhile, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said recently she had a “productive discussion” with Dr Jaishankar her on May 25 on “deepening our economic co-operation and advancing shared priorities.”
It may be recalled that India and Canada downgraded their diplomatic ties after former Canadian PM Trudeau made allegations of Indian government’s involvement in Nijjar’s killing.
There seems to be a thaw in the bilateral ties but it will be early to guess which way the wind blows.