Ottawa: Canada on Monday September 18, 2023 accused India of being directly involved in the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the claim vociferously rejected by the Narendra Modi government.
Hardeep Singh Nijjar was a Canadian activist and a staunch supporter of Khalistan - a separate Sikh state out of the Punjab region of India.
India had accused Nijjar of being involved in terrorist activities, and had demanded his extradition from Canada.
The 45-year-old Sikh separatist leader was shot dead in his truck by two masked gunmen in the parking lot of a Sikh temple on June 18, 2023 in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada. Canada was earlier investigating the “involvement of Indian agents” in Nijjar's killing.
While speaking in the Parliament Monday, Justin Trudeau described “credible allegation” linking India's involvement in Sikh separatist’s murder.
“Over the past number of weeks, Canadian security agencies have been actively pursuing credible allegations of a potential link between agents of the government of India and the killing of a Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar,” Trudeau said in the parliament.
India Canada ties on the brink. Canadian PM Justin Trudeau accuses Indian govt of killing Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in the Canadian Parliament. pic.twitter.com/gXpMrWWuTf— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) September 19, 2023
India Canada ties on the brink. Canadian PM Justin Trudeau accuses Indian govt of killing Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in the Canadian Parliament. pic.twitter.com/gXpMrWWuTf
“My government would take all steps necessary to hold perpetrators of this murder to account”, he said.
While speaking in the Canadian Parliament Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also said he had raised “in no uncertain term” the issue with the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi when the two had met on the side-lines of the G20 Summit 2023 in New Delhi last week.
“I told PM Modi that any Indian government involvement would be unacceptable and asked for cooperation in the investigation”, he said.
Hours after Justin Trudeau’s speech in the Parliament, Canada expelled a top Indian diplomat whose identity has not been revealed.
The Indian diplomat’s expulsion was confirmed by Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Mélanie Joly, who also confirmed that the individual is the head of the Indian intelligence agency in Canada.
“Today we’re acting by expelling a key diplomat, but we will get to the bottom of this,” she told reporters in Ottawa on Monday.
India meanwhile rejected as "absurd and motivated" Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's charge that it played a role in the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
"Such unsubstantiated allegations seek to shift the focus from Khalistani terrorists and extremists, who have been provided shelter in Canada and continue to threaten India's sovereignty and territorial integrity. The inaction of the Canadian Government on this matter has been a long-standing and continuing concern," said a foreign ministry statement.
The latest development takes to new low the already tense relation between India and Canada. It comes days after Canada put on hold a trade mission that was due to visit India in October, 2023. Prime Minister Modi had on the sidelines of G20 Summit discussed with Justin Trudeau and raised concerns over Canada being used for “anti-India activities”.
For all the latest News, Opinions and Views, download ummid.com App.
Select Language To Read in Urdu, Hindi, Marathi or Arabic.
