Canada gives asylum to pro-Khalistani militant

In a decision which could further damage the already fractured relations between India and Canada, an alleged Khalistani terrorist has been granted political asylum by Canada.

An immigration tribunal in Canada has ruled that a Sikh man accused of harboring and feeding Khalistani terrorists in India should be allowed entry into the country. The tribunal said it had done so out of necessity and fear of retaliation.

According to the reports in a section of the Canadian media, Immigration and Refugee Board tribunal member Heidi Worsfold said in a recent decision that the government did not have reasonable grounds to declare Indian citizen Kamaljit Ram inadmissible for entry into Canada.

An immigration tribunal ruled that a Sikh man who 'housed and fed' armed Khalistani militants in India for more than a decade should be allowed to enter Canada because he did so 'out of great need,' the newspaper said. It remarked that it did it out of fear of retribution.

The decision by the federal government to ban Ram from Canada came after he told Canada Border Services Agency officials during an interview that he had sheltered and fed armed Sikh terrorists at his farm in India between 1982 and 1992.

The decision comes amid a diplomatic standoff between India and Canada following Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegations of 'possible' involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on June 18 in British Columbia. Nijjar was shot dead by two masked gunmen. India had declared Nijjar a terrorist in 2020.

Last month, India had asked Canada to take strict action against terrorists and anti-India elements carrying out illegal activities from its soil.