PTI
Washington, September 24th
The US provided intelligence to Canada after the killing of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, but communications intercepted by Ottawa were more explicit and led to the country accusing India of orchestrating the plot, the New York Times (NYT) reported. citing sources.
The report emerged on Saturday as the top US diplomat in Canada confirmed that there had been “shared intelligence between Five Eyes partners” that prompted Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s offensive accusations against India over the killing of a Khalistani extremist on Canadian soil.
The allegations angered India, which dismissed the allegations as “absurd” and “motivated” and expelled a senior Canadian diplomat – a comparison to Ottawa’s expulsion of an Indian official in this case. India also accused Canada of being a safe haven for terrorists.
Nijjar, the head of the outlawed Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF), was killed on June 18 in Surrey, British Columbia. India had designated Nijjar as a terrorist in 2020.
The United States has called on India to cooperate with Canada in its investigation.
“After the killing, U.S. intelligence agencies provided their Canadian counterparts with context that helped Canada conclude that India was involved,” the NYT reported, citing unnamed allied officials.
But what appears to be the “smoking gun”: intercepted communications from Indian diplomats in Canada suggesting involvement in the plot has been collected by Canadian officials, allied officials said.
David Cohen, U.S. ambassador to Canada, said in an interview with CTV News that “shared intelligence between Five Eyes partners” tipped Trudeau off about the possible involvement of Indian agents in the killing of a Canadian citizen in June.
“I would say this was shared intelligence. There’s been a lot of communication between Canada and the United States on this issue and I think that’s where I’m comfortable,” Cohen told CTV News.
After Nijjar’s death, American officials told their Canadian counterparts that Washington had no prior information about the plot and that if U.S. officials had done so, they would have informed Ottawa immediately under the intelligence community’s “duty to warn” doctrine, according to two allied officials , the newspaper reported.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss what had become a diplomatic firestorm, said Canadian officials issued a general warning to Nijjar but did not tell him that he was the target of an Indian government plot , the report says.
Cohen told CTV that the US takes these allegations very seriously. “And you know, if they turn out to be true, it may be a very serious violation of the rules-based international order in which we like to function,” he said in response to a question.
While Secretary of State Antony Blinken has urged India to cooperate with the Canadian investigation, American officials have largely sought to avoid a diplomatic backlash from India, the paper said.
But disclosing the involvement of U.S. intelligence agencies risks drawing Washington into the diplomatic battle between Canada and India at a time when it is keen to develop New Delhi into a closer partner, they said.
Blinken said the US was “deeply concerned” about Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau’s allegations against India and that Washington had “coordinated closely” with Ottawa on the matter and wanted to see “accountability” in the case.
At a news conference in New York on Friday, Blinken said the U.S. has been working directly with the Indian government on this matter and the completion of that investigation is the most fruitful.
Trudeau said Friday that Canada provided India with evidence of Nijjar’s killing “many weeks ago” and wants New Delhi to engage constructively with Ottawa to establish the facts in the “very serious matter.”
Asked whether Canada is sharing information with India in this case, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in New Delhi said: “Canada has not shared any specific information on this case then, before or after.” We have, you know, as we have said, or I think we have made it very clear, that we are willing to look at any specific information.”
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