NEW YORK, Sept 21 (Portal) – Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday called on India to cooperate with an investigation into the murder of a Sikh separatist leader in British Columbia and said Canada would not release its evidence.
Trudeau said Monday that Ottawa had credible allegations linking Indian government agents to the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June, prompting an angry response from New Delhi. Nijjar, 45, was a Canadian citizen.
The Canadian government has been gathering both human and signals intelligence in a months-long investigation into the killing of the Sikh separatist leader, CBC News reported separately on Thursday, citing sources.
Traditional Canadian allies have so far taken a relatively cautious approach to this issue. Political analysts said this is partly because the United States and other major players see India as a counterweight to China’s growing influence.
“There is no question that India is a country of growing importance and a country that we must continue to work with … and we do not want to provoke or cause problems,” Trudeau said at a news conference in New York on the sidelines of the country’s annual high-level general assembly United Nations. “But we agree on the importance of the rule of law and the importance of protecting Canadians.”
“Therefore, we call on the Indian government to work with us to establish processes to find out and uncover the truth in this matter.”
The CBC report, citing Canadian sources, said that behind closed doors, no Indian official disputed the claim that there was evidence that the Indian government was involved in Nijjar’s death. India’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a Portal request for comment on the CBC report.
The report said the intelligence included communications involving Indian officials, including Indian diplomats present in Canada, adding that some of the intelligence was provided by an unidentified ally in the Five Eyes alliance.
[1/2]Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau holds a press conference on the sidelines of the UNGA in New York, United States, on September 21, 2023, as tensions escalate after Canada said it would “actively investigate credible allegations” that Indian government agents were involved in the killing of a Sikh connect Acquire license rights. Read more
Five Eyes is an information sharing network spanning the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
The United States is in contact with both Canada and India over Ottawa’s allegations, U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Thursday, confirming for the first time that Washington had spoken to New Delhi about the matter.
“There is no special dispensation for actions like this,” Sullivan told reporters when asked about Trudeau’s statement about possible Indian involvement. “It’s a concern for us, we take it seriously.”
US President Joe Biden and several members of the Five Eyes raised the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi when they met at the G20 summit this month, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.
India’s foreign ministry said Canada had not shared any specific information about the killing. Nijjar supported a Sikh homeland in the form of an independent Khalistani state and was designated a “terrorist” by India in July 2020.
“As a country with a strong and independent judicial system, we allow these judicial processes to unfold with the utmost integrity,” Trudeau said when asked when Canada would release the evidence before it.
India on Thursday suspended new visas for Canadians and called on Ottawa to reduce its diplomatic presence in the country. When asked about these measures, Trudeau did not respond.
An Indian trade official said separately there was no reason for Canadian pension funds to pull out of investments in the country.
Additional reporting by Andrea Shalal in Washington, Chandni Shah in Bengaluru; Writing by David Ljunggren; Editing by Paul Simao, Barbara Lewis and Grant McCool
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