Amid the ongoing diplomatic standoff between India and Canada over the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, India has suspended visa services for Canadians. On the suspension of visa services in Canada, Bagchi said, “You are aware of the security threats being faced by our High Commission and Consulates in Canada. This has disrupted their normal functioning.”
The Indian foreign ministry said that Canada was becoming a safe haven for terrorists and urged Trudeau government to not do so and take action against those who have terrorism charges or send them to India to face justice.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, “We’ve sought either extradition request or assistance related to that, at least more than 20-25 individuals we’ve requested over the years but the response has not been helpful at all.”
Well, this is quite disheartening that Canada, which calls itself a ‘Full Democracy’ and which boast of having an ultimate freedom of expression, has become a safe haven for dreaded terrorists, who commit terror activities in other countries and then take refuge and enjoy the high quality ‘Canadian Life‘.
However, now the diplomatic landscape is shifting, and people and nations have started understanding the double game of Canada, and they have started talking about it in open. Following the heightened tensions between India and Canada due to the assassination of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, India’s neighbors such as Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have now voiced its own grievances against Canada’s extradition policies and support to Terrorism.
Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ali Sabry said the allegations against India are “outrageous and unsubstantiated”.
He added, “Some of the terrorists have found safe haven in Canada. The Canadian PM has this way of just coming out with some outrageous allegations without any supporting proof,” Sabry said. “The same thing they did for Sri Lanka, a terrible, total lie about saying that Sri Lanka had a genocide. Everybody knows there was no genocide in our country.”
Canada refers to the Sri Lankan civil war (1983-2009) as a “genocide”. On 18 May, Canadian PM Justin Trudeau marked the “first Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day” in his country. This received a sharp response from Sri Lanka.
Sabry also commented on the Canadian parliament last week honoring a Ukrainian military veteran who fought for the Nazis. He said, “I saw yesterday he had gone and given a rousing welcome to somebody who has associated with the Nazis in the past during the Second World War. So, this is questionable and we have dealt with it in the past. I am not surprised that sometimes PM Trudeau comes out with outrageous and unsubstantiated allegations.”
On the other hand, Bangladesh’s Foreign Minister, AK Abdul Momen, went a step ahead and made a bold and direct claim: “Canada must not be a hub of all the murderers. The murderers can go to Canada and take shelter, and they can have a wonderful life while those they killed, their relatives are suffering.” This sharp critique underscores a growing sentiment among nations that Canada’s extradition stance, especially its abolitionist position against the death penalty, is becoming a protective shield for criminals.
At the heart of this controversy is Canada’s refusal to extradite Noor Chowdhury, the self-confessed assassin of Bangladesh’s founding father, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.
Momen further elaborated on the issue of capital punishment, stating, “Our judiciary is very independent and the government cannot intervene in that. But, [Noor Chowdhury] has the scope for a life sentence. If he comes back to Bangladesh, both Noor Chowdhury and Rashid Chowdhury can ask for a mercy petition to the president of the country. And the President may grant them the mercy petition and change it from execution to life sentence.”
The Foreign Minister’s words also touch upon a broader, global concern: the potential misuse of human rights. “The concept of human rights is being abused by many people at many times. This is really unfortunate because this has become at times an excuse for some people to protect killers and murderers and terrorists,” he emphasized.
The extradition politics between Canada and nations like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and India are emblematic of a larger narrative. They underscore the challenges countries face in balancing international law, human rights, and national security. While Canada’s stance is rooted in its commitment to human rights, it’s increasingly perceived by its partners as a potential loophole for criminals and terrorists.
Canada has become an Exporter of Terrorism
You will be shocked to know that Canadian terrorists have killed and injured more than 300 in other countries since 2012, according to figures compiled by Global News that document the victims of so-called extremist travellers.
Fatal attacks in Algeria, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Iraq, Russia, Somalia and Syria were attributed to Canadians during that time. An attack in Michigan resulted in no deaths but seriously injured a police officer.
Citizens of 19 countries were killed in attacks involving Canadian perpetrators, including locals and British, Colombian, French, Indian, Israeli, Italian, Filipino, Japanese, Malaysian, Norwegian, Romanian and U.S. nationals.
Canadians have long been active in foreign terrorist groups, but their numbers increased sharply following the start of the Syrian conflict. In 2013 alone, overseas attacks in which Canadians played key roles killed 90 and wounded 98.
