Only 5 extradition requests resolved by Canada: Envoy

Recalled Indian envoy from Canada Sanjay Verma. PIC/PTI

Of the 26 requests sent to Canada for extraditing Khalistani terrorists, Ottawa has resolved only five and the rest remain in limbo, India's top envoy to that country has said, calling it the result of "inaction". The five men are in the process of being extradited, High Commissioner Sanjay Verma told PTI in an interview this week. He said he is not at liberty to disclose the name or give details.

The interview took place on Wednesday, a couple of days after his return to New Delhi. India recalled him and five other Indian diplomats after they were named "person of interest" in a Canadian investigation into the 2023 killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Khalistani terrorist who was a Canadian citizen.

"According to the last information that I had, five of them have been resolved. Twenty-one are still pending, and these are pending since decades. So, I would say that there is an inaction rather than consultation. All the issues which get into the judicial system of a country, sometimes need consultations, because we follow two different judicial systems," he said.

But, if there is no action in the last four-five or 10 years, then "I would only call it inaction", Verma said. Recently, the Ministry of External Affairs said the 26 extradition requests are for people who have been charged in India with terror and related crimes. India has also sought "provisional arrest" of several of the accused, which remains pending with Canada, under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty.

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