The inside story of how two alleged murder plots brought India, the US and Canada to a diplomatic crisis.

> But nothing in the evidence India presented, the people say, met the standard for criminal charges in Canada, let alone for extradition. To press their case, officials in New Delhi frequently sent clippings from Indian media, which was rife with lurid stories about Nijjar’s alleged involvement in violence, instead of providing what the process required: hard evidence, obtained without coercion, that would stand up in a Western courtroom. When that didn’t work, the people say, the Indians suggested that Canadian police find a way to concoct the necessary evidence.

> The result was mutual incomprehension. To law enforcement agencies in Canada, Nijjar was an activist, unless India could persuasively demonstrate otherwise. To Indian police and their political overseers, he was a terrorist, as the country formally designated him in 2020. The conventional wisdom in New Delhi was that this standoff reflected Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s domestic interests—specifically, his desire to court Sikh voters, who are a meaningful factor in Canadian elections.

Absolutely absurd that Indian officials thought that *news clippings* would be sufficient evidence for Canadian authorities to act. It only become even more absurd over this risible allegation that Trudeau himself was stopping them from acting. This theory completely falls flat when you consider that the US also wasn’t satisfied with what had been presented to them:

> Similar political incentives didn’t apply to Washington, though, and when the Indian government sought action against Khalistan campaigners in the US, the response was much the same as in Canada. Pannun, like Nijjar, was listed as a terrorist by Indian authorities, and they considered the group he was part of, Sikhs for Justice, to be an “unlawful organization.” The group’s messaging was often inflammatory, including posters calling on supporters to “burn [the] Indian constitution” and “balkanize India.” Yet in Queens, Pannun lived unmolested, as did fellow activists elsewhere in the country. Regardless of India’s demands, he and Nijjar were going to continue their campaign—unless events intervened.

Why is this being posted repeatedly? No one cares.
India was right to do what it did. And Canada is right to feel angry.
Let’s move on.