'Foreign Terrorist, Asylum Abuser': Canadian Opposition Leader Calls For Stripping Khalistani Nijjar Of Citizenship

Maxime Bernier, leader of Canada's People's Party (CPP) and a prominent opposition figure, stated that Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was shot outside a Surrey gurdwara in 2023, was not a Canadian citizen but a "foreign terrorist" who repeatedly used fraudulent documents to seek asylum in Canada since 1997.

In a post on X (17 October 2024), Bernier argued that Nijjar should have been deported after his fake asylum claim, just like many others who are currently in Canada under pretenses. 

He also called for stripping Nijjar's citizenship posthumously to correct the administrative mistake.

“One myth should be dispelled though: That the central figure in this controversy, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the Khalistani militant who was murdered last year, was a Canadian.” Bernier wrote.

"He was actually a foreign terrorist who used fraudulent documents to claim asylum in Canada several times starting in 1997,” he added.

Bernier even stated that the claims of Nijjar were rejected “but he was nevertheless allowed to stay in this country and was somehow granted citizenship in 2007.”

“Nijjar wasn't a Canadian. We should perhaps posthumously take away his citizenship to right this administrative error. He should have been deported after his first fake asylum claim, like the hundreds of thousands of fake asylum claimants who are in Canada right now," he wrote.

He also stated that allegations made by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and the Liberal government regarding Indian diplomats engaging in criminal activities in Canada are "highly serious" and stressed that they need to be addressed decisively if proven true.

“If true, allegations made by the RCMP and the Liberal government that Indian diplomats participated in criminal activities on our territory are very serious and should be dealt with. So far, however, we haven’t been given any proof. And Trudeau is using this crisis to divert the attention from other controversies”, he wrote on X.

He went on to assert that the problem arises because, for decades, Canada has "deliberately invited these foreigners and their tribal conflicts into our nation.”

He urged to acknowledge this "major blunder" and collaborate with the Indian government to find solutions, rather than risking diplomatic ties.

On 14 October 2024, the Ministry of External Affairs announced that it is withdrawing the Indian high commissioner and other diplomats after they were labeled as 'persons of interest' by Ottawa in its probe into the killing of pro- Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

Following this Canada's Charge d'Affaires was summoned by the Ministry of External Affairs and was told that the baseless "targeting" of Indian High Commissioner Sanjay Verma and other diplomats and officials was "completely unacceptable.

Following this, India has asked six Canadian diplomats including Charge d'Affaires Wheelers and Deputy High Commissioner Patrick Hebert to leave India by or before 11:59 pm on 19 October.

Also Read: ‘Bury the Past, Build the Future’: Nawaz Sharif Sees India’s SCO Visit As 'New Dawn' For India-Pakistan Relations