NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is “unlikely” to travel to Canada for the upcoming G7 Summit, as he has not received a formal invitation due to strained diplomatic relations between New Delhi and Ottawa, Indian media reported, citing sources.
Indian media, citing insiders, reported that neither the Indian side told about the visit nor the Canadian side has approached New Delhi in this regard. They said the relationship needs to develop before any high-profile visit of this kind occurs.
This would be the first time in six years that Modi will not be attending the G7 summit, which is being hosted by Canada this year from June 15 to 17.
According to Indian media, citing official sources, New Delhi has not received any formal invitation for the summit.
A Canadian G7 spokesperson didn’t confirm late on Sunday if PM Modi was going to be invited, the Times of India (TOI) reported.
Last month, the Ministry of External Affairs, on two occasions, stated that there was “no information” on PM Modi’s visit to Canada for the G7 summit.
It has been two years since the diplomatic ties between the two countries have been downgraded over the killing of Khalistan movement leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil.
Last year, Canada expelled six Indian diplomats — including the head of mission — over allegations they were involved in a plot against Sikh separatists on Canadian soil.
Canada’s foreign minister, Ankita Anand, told Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail that the killing of Khalistan movement leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil caused strained bilateral ties between the two sides.
The case garnered global interest after then-Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused the Narendra Modi government of being involved in the incident.
The annual G7 Leaders’ Summit will take place in Kananaskis, Alberta, this year. While uncertainty looms over Modi’s participation, reports have emerged that South Africa, Ukraine, and Australia have accepted invitations from Canada for the summit.
The G7 countries — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States — as well as the president of the European Commission and various other countries are likely to attend the summit.
PM Modi has been invited to every G7 leaders’ summit since 2019. This would be the first time that PM Modi won’t be attending the meeting.
Canadian media reported that Sikh organisations have been calling on Ottawa to “break with a five-year tradition by not inviting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the G7 summit.”
The Toronto-based Sikh Federation said Canada should withhold any invitation “until India substantially cooperates with criminal investigations in Canada,” CBC news reported.
![NEW YORK: Pakistan's former Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, leading Pakistan’s high-level parliamentary delegation, on Tuesday warned that India's aggressive actions pose a serious threat to peace in South Asia and urged the international community to take note of India's aggressive conduct. Bilawal was addressing a press conference at the United Nations headquarters in New York on recent regional developments after the military conflict between India and Pakistan. The Pakistani delegation is in New York to present Pakistan’s stance on the military escalation with India and to challenge New Delhi’s narrative at the global level. The visit is part of Pakistan’s sustained diplomatic outreach to brief key UN stakeholders on the alarming regional situation. The Pakistani delegation is also scheduled to arrive in Washington today, where it plans to engage with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, other senior officials, lawmakers, and think tanks till June 6. The team will also visit London and Brussels. Speaking at the press conference, Bilawal said that he wanted to use the opportunity to share Pakistan’s perspective on the recent military conflict with India in the wake of the Pahalgam attack and the way forward. Bilawal said that the “illegal strikes” launched by India as part of its ‘Operation Sindoor’ were “in violation of the UN Charter, international law”. He said the attacks had targeted civilian infrastructure, places of worship, energy infrastructure and innocent women and children. He said India had used the April 22 terrorist attack in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir’s (IIOJK) Pahalgam as a pretext to launch the attack inside Pakistan. Following the Pahalgam incident, Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif offered publicly to India that Pakistan was ready to be part of any impartial international investigation into this attack. “We did so because we were confident, our hands were clean and we had nothing to do with this terrorist attack. “We expressed our sympathy with the victims of terrorism and Pakistan has consistently and unequivocally condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,” he said, adding that PM Sharif had immediately expressed Pakistan’s willingness to India and the global community to be part of any impartial international investigation. “Indian government refused Pakistan's offer and chose instead to conduct their illegal strikes. Pakistan only then acted in self-defence, we never initiated any violence against India,” Bilawal said. Bilawal emphasised that Pakistan never initiated hostilities against India but responded to Indian aggression by downing six Indian fighter jets. "The Pakistani military had responded with precision the night of the first Indian attack and only targeted and downed six planes because we believed those were the ones to release their load on Pakistan”. He stated that US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio played a vital role in achieving a ceasefire during heightened tensions between the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours. “We’ve seen during the course of this conflict how quickly the escalation ladder between our two countries rose and the concern is that the next time there is such an incident, there may not be time for the international community to intervene before things get a lot worse. That is why it is absolutely important for Pakistan and the international community to continue to pursue dialogue and diplomacy as the only viable path to peace.” He said Pakistan’s position was to hold a “comprehensive dialogue” with India that would include the issue of terrorism as well. The head of the Pakistani delegation said that no civilized nation can support the use of water as a weapon and urged the international community to play its part, questioning, "What would be the global reaction if someone’s lifeline was cut off?" He stressed that Pakistan has paid a heavy price in the fight against terrorism and has suffered the most. “The single largest number of terrorist attacks that take place in any one country is Pakistan. The single largest number of victims of terrorism is Pakistan. I myself have suffered at the hands of terrorists. My mother [Benazir Bhutto] was assassinated by the terrorists.” Bilawal also criticised India for targeting water reservoirs and civilian areas, including mosques, during its attacks. Calling negotiations the only path to peace, Bilawal reiterated that the unresolved Kashmir dispute remains the root cause of regional instability. He urged the global community to take notice of India’s aggressive conduct.](https://wenewsenglish.com/storage/2025/06/Bilawal-Bhutto-Zardari-300x180.jpg)
