Toronto: Canada’s Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly has said that she remains in touch with her Indian counterpart S Jaishankar and will engage with Indian officials on “enquiries” related to the arrest of Arshdeep Singh Gill, better known as Arsh Dalla.
Speaking to reporters on the margins of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Annual Ministerial Meeting in Lima, Peru on Friday, Joly said that she could not comment on an ongoing investigation. However, she remarked, “We will continue to engage with Indian diplomats if there are any enquiries regarding this issue.”
She added that she has “been in contact” with Jaishankar.
This is the first indication that the ministerial level conversations have continued after India withdrew six diplomats and officials from Canada on October 14 after Global Affairs Canada sent a communique describing them as “persons of interest” in investigations related to violent criminal activity in the country. India also expelled six Canadian diplomats.
“We will continue to have conversations at the foreign ministry level. First, on violence that can happen in Canada and making sure ultimately that we are able to find a way, a path forward,” Joly added.
Gill was arrested on October 28 by Halton Regional Police and is scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice in Milton for a bail hearing on Monday.
Gill has been accused by India of not just being a gangster but also a pro-Khalistan terrorist, who has assumed charge of the Khalistan Tiger Force after the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar on June 18 last year in Surrey, British Columbia.
That murder caused a crash in ties between New Delhi and Ottawa after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s statement in the House of Commons on September 18, 2023, that there were “credible allegations” of a potential link between Indian agents the killing. Four Indian nationals were arrested this year in that connection and are scheduled to appear before a court in British Columbia on November 21.
None of the Indian charges against Gill or Nijjar have been tested in a Canadian court.
Bilateral relations have deteriorated further as, on October 14, Trudeau accused India of engaging in violent criminal activity impinging upon Canada’s territorial integrity.
On November 14, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson stated that in “view of the recent arrest, our agencies will be following up on an extradition request.” That request for Gill’s extradition to India was conveyed to Ottawa last summer.
“Given Arsh Dalla’s criminal record in India and his involvement in similar illegal activities in Canada, it is expected that he will be extradited or deported to face justice in India,” the statement had added.