India Canada news Highlights: ‘US to keep a distance from India-Canada dispute’

India Canada news Highlights: Canadian PM Justin Trudeau alleged India's role behind the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Monday.

India-Canada New Highlights: Days after accusing the agents of the Indian government of being involved in the killing of Khalistan terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Friday said that Ottawa wants to "work constructively with India" on the case.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, right, shakes hand with Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau upon his arrival at Bharat Mandapam convention centre for the G20 Summit in New Delhi, India, September 9, 2023. (HT Photo)

The raging diplomatic row has brought down India-Canada ties to its lowest in decades with the Narendra Modi government strongly dismissing Trudeau's claims as "absurd" and “politically motivated.”

Amid the tensions, India on Thursday had stopped processing visa applications by Canadians and also asked Canada to downsize its diplomatic staff in the country. However, amid speculations of a possible retaliation by Canada on the matter, an official told HT Friday that the Canadian visas were being processed normally.

Follow all the updates here:

• Sep 23, 2023 11:56 PM IST

  Trudeau going public is a case of ‘political pandering’ by him: Tharoor

  Going public in this way seems to be a case of political pandering by the current Canadian PM. This political pandering to a narrow constituency in his country has had serious international consequences and obviously damaged the bilateral relationship with India which in the short terms seems beyond repair. But, I do believe that both countries should realise that it's in their mutual interest to try and rebuild this relationship: Shashi Tharoor, Congress MP

• Sep 23, 2023 09:33 PM IST

  US to keep a distance from India-Canada dispute, Signum’s Myers says

  The Biden administration will likely try to stay out of the diplomatic dispute between Canada and India as much it can, aiming not to disrupt the progress it’s made in its relationship with Narendra Modi’s government, the founder of political strategy firm Signum Global Advisors says.

  “We’re doing everything we can to engage with India to try to help outcompete China, and I don’t think the United States is going to get too involved” in the dispute, Signum Chairman Charles Myers said on BNN Bloomberg Television. Myers, former vice chairman at Evercore, is a longtime Democratic Party donor who has raised money for Biden.

  Canada and India relations have been strained over the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen who was shot on June 18 in Surrey, a suburb of Vancouver. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said this week there’s “credible” evidence that links to the Indian government to the murder of Nijjar, who was an advocate for an independent Sikh nation in northwestern India. “Any involvement of a foreign government in the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil is an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty,” Trudeau said. (Bloomberg)

• Sep 23, 2023 08:20 PM IST

  Canada shared evidence of 'credible allegations' on Nijjar's killing with India 'many weeks ago', seeks to establish facts: PM Trudeau

  Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said that Canada shared with India "many weeks ago" evidence that it may have been behind the killing of Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil and wants New Delhi to commit constructively with Ottawa to establish the facts in the "very serious matter."

  Trudeau, however, did not elaborate on the evidence that he says has been shared with India.

  "Canada has shared the credible allegations that I talked about on Monday with India. We did that many weeks ago...We hope that they engage with us so that we can get to the bottom of this very serious matter. That's important," he said on Friday in a press conference with the visiting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. (PTI)

• Sep 23, 2023 06:15 PM IST

  US urges India to cooperate with Canada probe into terrorist Nijjar Murder

  Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged India to cooperate with Canada’s investigation into the killing of a Sikh leader that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged may have been carried out by India’s government, amid a worsening diplomatic spat between two key US partners, reported Bloomberg.

  Blinken said it was imperative the probe into the slaying of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was shot dead in a Vancouver suburb in June, be allowed to proceed unimpeded.

  “We’ve been consulting throughout, very closely, with our Canadian colleagues — not just consulting, coordinating,” Blinken said at a briefing in New York.

  “We are extremely vigilant about any instances of alleged transnational repression — it’s something we take very, very seriously,” he said.

• Sep 23, 2023 05:09 PM IST

  Punjab BJP president writes letter to EAM S Jaishankaron the diplomatic issue between India and Canada addressed

  "In the wake of unsubstantiated allegations against the Indian Government by the Canadian Prime Minister; the diplomatic relationship between the two countries has understandably been on a downward spiral. PM Justin Trudeau has made these absurd and malicious charges only to cater to his domestic political compulsions. The Government of India has taken the right stand by strongly countering PM Trudeau's outburst and has asked for evidence, which does not seem forthcoming," read the letter by Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar, reported ANI.

• Sep 23, 2023 04:33 PM IST

  Everyone is innocent until proven guilty, let the truth come out: says Vikas Swarup on Canada's allegations against India

  Criticising Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for his reckless actions in a deepening diplomatic row with India over the killing of a Sikh separatist, Vikas Swarup, a former Indian envoy to the country asked Ottawa to take steps to deescalate the dispute and allow the truth to come out in public.

  Swarup, who served as India’s high commissioner to Canada from 2017 to 2019, also repeated the Indian government’s accusations that Ottawa has been too accommodating with violent Sikh separatists, something he said Canada will regret.

  He also reminded the Canadian government that “everyone is innocent until proven guilty” and to allow “the rule of law to take its course.”

  Tensions flared between India and Canada early this week following Prime Minister Trudeau's explosive allegations of the "potential" involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani extremist Nijjar on his country's soil on June 18 in British Columbia. (PTI)

• Sep 23, 2023 03:43 PM IST

  NIA confiscates properties of SFJ's Gurpatwant Singh Pannu in Chandigarh, Amritsar

  The National Investigation Agency (NIA) confiscated the immovable properties of Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, the chief of banned outfit Sikhs for Justice, in Chandigarh and Amritsar on Saturday, official sources said.

  "Property confiscation" notices were put up outside the residence of pro-Khalistan leader Pannu in Chandigarh and near a piece of agricultural land in Punjab's Amritsar, they said.

  The action was taken under the relevant section of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

  The notice put up in Chandigarh read: "1/4th share of house no. 2033, sector 15-C, Chandigarh, owned by Gurpatwant Singh Pannu, a proclaimed offender in NIA case, stands confiscated to the state under section 33(5) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 by the orders of the NIA special court, SAS Nagar, Mohali, Punjab. This is for information of general public."

• Sep 23, 2023 01:47 PM IST

  We helped but G20 success due to India, no view on Canada’s allegation: Brazil FM

  India Canada news LIVE updates: Brazil’s foreign minister Mauro Vieira has said that while Indonesia, South Africa and his own country helped in pushing the G20 New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration, the “final success” was due to India’s hard work and ability to convince all countries.

  In what is among the first reactions from a country of the global south on Canada’s charges against India — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has alleged possible links between agents of the government of India with the killing of a man India designated as a terrorist on Canadian soil — Brazil said it did not have a position on the issue and it was a bilateral matter between two other countries, adding IBSA was not the forum to discuss it.

• Sep 23, 2023 01:27 PM IST

  India Canada news: Hardeep Singh Nijjar not religious figure but 'terrorist'

  India Canada news LIVE updates: Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, whose killing led to a row between India and Canada, was not a religious and social figure but a terrorist who was involved in running terrorist training camps and funding terror acts, sources have said.

  Nijjar was a close associate of Gurdeep Singh alias Deepa Heranwala, who was involved in the killing of around 200 people in Punjab during the late 1980s and early 1990s.

  Heranwala belonged to the banned Khalistan Commando Force.

  Nijjar, who was killed by unidentified assailants on June 18 at a parking lot of a Sikh gurdwara in British Columbia, had escaped to Canada in 1996 fearing arrest by police here and indulged in illegal activities like drug smuggling and extortion in Canada to arrange funding for terrorist activities, sources said.

  Nijjar was also involved in training youths at a terror camp in British Columbia to carry out attacks in India, they said.

  Over the years, Nijjar assumed the role of 'Operation Chief' of Khalistan Tiger Force, or KTF, a banned terror group.

• Sep 23, 2023 01:07 PM IST

  India-Canada tensions shine light on complexities of Sikh activism in the diaspora

  India Canada news LIVE updates: The shocking accusation this week by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that India may have been behind the assassination of a Sikh separatist leader in British Columbia has raised several complex questions about the nature of Sikh activism in the North American diaspora.

  • Canada is home to the largest Sikh population outside India. There are about 800,000 Sikhs in Canada — roughly 2% of the population. The United States is home to about 500,000 Sikhs. While some Sikhs argue there is widespread support in the diaspora for an independent Sikh state in the subcontinent called Khalistan, others say there is no such consensus.
  • The debate over support for Khalistan and what activism looks like in the Sikh diaspora has intensified after Trudeau’s accusation that India may have had a hand in the assassination of 45-year-old Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen shot dead outside the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey on June 18.
  • Nijjar, a prominent Sikh leader in British Columbia, was designated a terrorist by India in 2020 for his alleged links to the Khalistan Tiger Force, a group campaigning for independent Khalistan in the Punjab region of India. The active insurgency ended decades ago, but Prime Minster Narendra Modi's government recently warned that Sikh separatists were trying to stage a comeback and pressed countries like Canada to do more to stop them.
  • The question of Khalistan or Sikh sovereignty “is not a fringe concept or idea in the community,” said Jaskaran Sandhu, a board member with the World Sikh Organization of Canada, the largest Sikh advocacy organization in that country.
  • “When you look at Sikh history, it has always been about sovereignty and self-determination,” he said. “Sikh voices calling for an independent state where they can practice their faith freely are getting louder. There is strong support for Khalistan in the diaspora because we have the right to free speech and the right to organize here, while you don’t have that in India.”
  • India has outlawed the Khalistan movement. Groups associated with it are listed as terrorist organizations under India’s Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and are considered a serious security threat by the government. In the U.S. and Canada, Khalistani activism is not illegal and is protected under free speech laws.
  • Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, general counsel with Sikhs for Justice, has also been listed as a terrorist by the Indian government. The organization was banned by India in 2019.
  • Pannun has been a leading organizer of the Khalistan Referendum, inviting Sikhs worldwide to vote on whether Punjab should become an independent nation based on religion. Organizers of the nonbinding referendum hope to present the results to the U.N. General Assembly in about two years.
  • “Sikh sovereignty means having your independent, autonomous state where you have total control of the state’s resources,” Pannun said, adding that Sikhs in India are still forced to live under Hindu laws governing marriage, inheritance and adoption. Pannun faces sedition and a slew of other charges in India and has faced criticism for saying “Indo-Hindus who work against the interests of Canada” should return to India.
  • Pannun says he worked closely with Nijjar for many years and calls him “one of the dedicated campaigners for Khalistan.” “He knew his life was in danger,” he said. “We spoke 18 hours before his assassination. But he never took a step back."
  • Not all agree that Khalistani activism is on the rise in the diaspora. Amandeep Sandhu, India-based journalist and author of “Panjab: Journeys Through Fault Lines,” believes it remains a fringe movement. Even if 200,000 people may have shown up to vote at referendums held so far, that number is small compared to the 30 million Sikhs who live in India and around the world, he said.
  • While Sikhs who migrated to North America, Australia and the United Kingdom may carry inter-generational trauma and memories of a “brutal Indian state,” they have not become engaged in the fight for Khalistan because they are busy building lives for themselves, Sandhu said.
  • “Life is hard for migrants," he said. “How much money and resources do you have for Khalistan, a state that remains undefined?” Neither the Sikh community in India nor the diaspora is monolithic, he said. In India, Sikhs are also among the most patriotic. They are about 2% of India’s population, but form 8% of the nation’s army, and Sikh soldiers are among the nation's most decorated, Sandhu said.
  • Rajvinder Singh, a New Delhi store owner, said he believes “Khalistan’s ideology has no place in the minds of the Sikhs.” “I don’t support Khalistan,” he said. “If some foreigners believe in it, what can we do about it? This is a matter for diplomatic discussions. Both countries should work towards becoming better trade partners and not fight over these issues.”
  • In the diaspora, it is hard to tell how many actually support state separatism, said Anneeth Kaur Hundle, associate professor of anthropology and a specialist in Sikh studies at the University of California, Irvine.
  • Hundle said that in addition to the Khalistan issue, a lot of recent activism in the diaspora has focused on gaining more recognition for Sikh suffering linked to events of 1984, when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi sent the Indian army to the Golden Temple in Amritsar, the holiest of Sikh shrines, to flush out several key figures in the growing militant Khalistani movement. Months later, following Gandhi’s assassination by her Sikh bodyguards, thousands of Sikhs were killed across north India as the violence spread beyond Amritsar.
• Sep 23, 2023 12:45 PM IST

  Canadian politicians denounce threat to Hindus but mum on pro-Khalistani outfit

  India Canada news LIVE updates: Days after an offensive video from a pro-Khalistan group threatening Hindus in Canada to leave the country went viral, top federal public safety officials and politicians have denounced the "online hate video" and asserted that Hindus are “safe and welcome.”

  • However, neither the government body nor the politicians singled out the video by name, according to a report by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).
  • Dominic LeBlanc, Canada’s minister of public safety, democratic institutions, and intergovernmental affairs, said that the “circulation of an online hate video targeting Hindu Canadians runs contrary to the values we hold dear as Canadians.”
  • LeBlanc, wrote in a post on X, “There is no place for acts of aggression, hate, intimidation or incitement of fear.”
  • The video showed Gurpatwant Singh Pannun of the pro-Khalistan group, Sikh for Justice, and a lawyer based in New York, openly asking Hindus from Canada to “go back to India.”
  • Even the Public Safety Department of Canada called the video “offensive and hateful,” the report by the country's public broadcaster said.
• Sep 23, 2023 12:26 PM IST

  Khalistan terror in Canada: KTF terrorist Arshdeep Dala has a killer record bigger than Nijjar

  India Canada news LIVE updates: The brewing controversy over the unsubstantiated allegations by Ottawa about the involvement of Indian agents in the killing of designated Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar has put the spotlight back on extremist activities in Canada.

  • A dossier put together by Indian intelligence agencies has listed Arshdeep Singh, alias Arsh Dala, who fled India in July 2020, as one of the pro-Khalistani elements based in Canada.
  • Originally from the Dalla village in the Moga district of Punjab, Arsh Dala has been involved in various organized criminal activities and is associated with extremist groups, including the Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) and the International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF). He is also connected to the notorious Canadian gangster Goldy Brar.
• Sep 23, 2023 11:54 AM IST

  ‘Frustrating…’: Canadian politician says Ottawa ‘holding back’ info on Nijjar killing

  India Canada news LIVE updates: Amid the ongoing diplomatic stand-off between India and Canada, the Premier of British Columbia province, David Ebby has said the federal government is “holding back” information on the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, CBC News reported.

  • Eby was reported by CBC as saying that everything he knows about Nijjar's killing is "in the public realm," despite a briefing with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) director that he described as frustrating because there wasn't more concrete information.
  • This comes after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Parliament alleged India's role behind the killing this June of Nijjar on Canadian soil. New Delhi has outrightly denied the accusation as “absurd” and “motivated”.
  • Eby said that he strongly suspects the government is “holding back information that could help the province protect its residents with connections to India from foreign interference”.
• Sep 23, 2023 11:22 AM IST

  India Canada news | ‘If US has to choose between two friends, it will choose India’: Former Pentagon official

  India-Canada news LIVE updates: Stating that Justin Trudeau’s allegations have led to “greater danger” for Canada than India, former Pentagon official Michael Rubin said that if the United States has to choose between Ottawa and New Delhi, it will surely choose the latter as the relationship is "too important".

  • He said that India is far more important strategically than Canada is and Ottawa picking up a fight with India is like “an ant picking up a fight against an elephant”.
  • While referring to the poor approval ratings of Justin Trudeau, Rubin added that he is not long for the premiership, and the US can rebuild the relationship after he is gone.
  • “I suspect that the United States doesn't want to be painted a corner to choose between two friends. But if we have to choose between two friends, increasingly we're going to choose India on this matter, simply because Nijjar was a terrorist, and India is too important. Our relationship is too important,” Michael Rubin said while speaking to ANI.
  • “Justin Trudeau probably isn't long for the Canadian premiership, and then we can rebuild the relationship after he's gone,” he added.
  • Michael Rubin is a former Pentagon official and senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute Specialisation in Iran, Turkey, and South Asia.
• Sep 23, 2023 10:50 AM IST

  After India's demand, Canada says it will adjust staff level in New Delhi

  India Canada news LIVE updates: Canada’s foreign ministry has said it will adjust staff levels at the high commission and two consulates in India after some diplomats received threats on social media.

  • Trudeau’s allegations have led to a further deterioration of India-Canada relations, which had already been at a low in the past few years.
  • The two sides have also frozen negotiations on a free trade agreement. The current diplomatic row has come at a time when most of Canada’s partners in Five Eyes are focused on ramping up cooperation with India, which is seen as a counterpoint to China.
• Sep 23, 2023 10:25 AM IST

  India yet to get info that backs Canada claim

  India Canada news LIVE: India has yet to receive information through official channels that support Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s accusation of Indian involvement in the killing of Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, people familiar with the matter said on Friday amid a massive diplomatic row between the two countries over the slaying.

  The Canadian side had not formally provided any evidence or information on the case before, during or after Trudeau’s allegation in Canada’s Parliament of a “potential link” between Indian government agents and the killing of Nijjar, a designated terrorist, in Surrey, British Columbia, in June, the people added.

• Sep 23, 2023 10:05 AM IST

  Canada PM Trudeau has made huge mistake: Former Pentagon official

  India Canada news LIVE updates: Former Pentagon official Michael Rubin has said Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has made a huge mistake by alleging that India had links with the killing of Khalistan terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar and said that the premier has not been able to back his allegations.

  • “Prime Minister Trudeau I think has made a huge mistake. He has made allegations in a manner which he hasn't been able to back. Either he was shooting from the hip and he doesn't have the evidence to support the accusations he made against the government. There is something there, in which case he needs to explain why this government was sheltering a terrorist,” the former Pentagon official said when asked about his views on the Canadian PM’s allegations against the Indian government.
  • Trudeau had on Monday inside Canada's Parliament accused the Indian government of being behind the fatal shooting of Nijjar.
  • Nijjar, a designated terrorist in India, was gunned down outside a Gurdwara, in a parking area in Canada's Surrey, British Columbia on June 18.
• Sep 23, 2023 09:41 AM IST

  ‘Important that investigation runs its course’: US on Nijjar killing

  India Canada news LIVE updates: The US is “deeply concerned” about the allegations raised by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau against India on the killing of a Khalistani separatist in Canada, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said and Washington was "closely coordinating" with Ottawa on the issue and wants to see "accountability" in the case.

  • Speaking at a press conference here on Friday, Blinken said the US has engaged directly with the Indian government on the issue and the most productive thing would be the completion of this investigation.
  • “Let me say a few things about this. First, we are deeply concerned about the allegations that Prime Minister Trudeau has raised,” the top US diplomat said in response to a question on Trudeau’s allegations against India.
  • Trudeau said in the Canadian Parliament earlier this week that “Canadian security agencies have been actively pursuing credible allegations of a potential link between agents of the government of India and the killing” of Hardeep Singh Nijjar on June 18 in British Columbia.
  • “We have been consulting throughout very closely with our Canadian colleagues – and not just consulting, coordinating with them – on this issue. And from our perspective, it is critical that the Canadian investigation proceed, and it would be important that India work with the Canadians on this investigation. We want to see accountability, and it’s important that the investigation run its course and lead to that result,” Blinken said.
• Sep 23, 2023 09:20 AM IST

  India Canada news: ‘Want to see investigation complete,’ says Blinken on Nijjar killing

  Antony J Blinken, the Secretary of State, has said that the US has been consulting, even coordinating, with Canada on its allegation linking the government of India with a killing on its soil, and wants the Canadian investigation to proceed, India to cooperate with the investigation, and the investigation to lead to accountability. Read our detailed story on Blinken's response to India-Canada diplomatic row

• Sep 23, 2023 08:58 AM IST

  India Canada news: MEA says willing to look at 'specific info' if provided by Ottawa

  When asked about Canada sharing any information in the case with India, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in New Delhi said: "No specific information has been shared by Canada on this case, either then or before or after. We have, you know, as we have said, or I think we have made very clear, we are willing to look at any specific information."

  • "We have conveyed this to the Canadian side and made it clear to them that we are willing to look at any specific information that is provided to us. But so far we have not received any such specific information," MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in New Delhi.
  • India also said it has very "specific evidence" about criminal activities by individuals based on Canadian soil and it has been shared with the Canadian authorities on a regular basis but has not been acted upon.
  • Canada's allegations of India's involvement in the killing of a Sikh separatist in Surrey that sparked a diplomatic row between the two nations are based on both human and signals intelligence and inputs from an ally from Ottawa’s Five Eye intelligence network, a media report has said citing the Canadian government sources.
• Sep 23, 2023 08:45 AM IST

  US says it expects India to work with Canada on murder case

  The United States made clear on Friday that it expected the Indian government to work with Canada on efforts to investigate the possible involvement of New Delhi agents in the murder of a Canadian citizen in June.

  • Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Monday that Ottawa had credible intelligence linking Indian agents to the murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, prompting an angry reaction from New Delhi, which denies the allegation.
  • "We are deeply concerned about the allegations that Prime Minister Trudeau has raised," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters in a press briefing. “It would be important that India work with the Canadians on this investigation. We want to see accountability.”
  • The White House has spoken of its concerns over the allegations, but Blinken is the most senior U.S. official to have commented thus far.
• Sep 23, 2023 08:29 AM IST

  Canada shared intelligence on murder of Sikh with India weeks ago: Trudeau

  India Canada news LIVE updates: Canada shared evidence that Indian government agents were potentially involved in the murder of a Sikh separatist leader in British Columbia with New Delhi weeks ago, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday.

  • "Canada has shared the credible allegations that I talked about on Monday with India. We did that many weeks ago," Trudeau told a news conference in Ottawa. "We are there to work constructively with India. We hope that they engage with us so that we can get to the bottom of this very serious matter."
  • Trudeau said on Monday that Ottawa had credible intelligence linking Indian government agents to the murder in June of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, prompting an angry reaction from New Delhi. Nijjar, 45, was a Canadian citizen.
• Sep 23, 2023 08:08 AM IST

  Hardeep Singh Nijjar 'faked' marriage to get Canada citizenship in 1997: Report

  India Canada news LIVE updates: Amid the India-Canada diplomatic crisis over separatist leader Hardeep Sing Nijjar's assassination, reports said Indian agencies informed the Canadian government about all his terrorist activities and how he fled to Canada in 1997 but Canada did not take any action. Citing sources, news agency PTI reported that Nijjar had applied for asylum in Canada claiming that he feared persecution in India because he belonged to "a particular social group". But Nijjar's asylum was rejected on grounds of fabricated narrative. Nijjar had gone to Canada in 1997 using a counterfeit passport under the alias Ravi Sharma.

• Sep 23, 2023 07:46 AM IST

  'Trudeau's huge mistake': Ex Pentagon official reacts on India-Canada row

  India Canada news LIVE updates: On allegations by Canada, Michael Rubin, former Pentagon official and a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute: "Canadian PM Justin Trudeau has made a huge mistake. He has made allegations in a manner which he has not been able to back. There are two possibilities here, either he was shooting from the hip and he does not have the evidence to support the accusations he made against the Indian govt or there is something there, in which case he needs to explain why his govt was sheltering a terrorist with blood on his hands."

• Sep 23, 2023 07:32 AM IST

  Nijjar was a killer, not a religious head, says Indian Intel

  India Canada news LIVE: Ottawa is yet to provide credible evidence that India was behind the killing of Khalistan Tiger Force terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, but Canadian intelligence continues to push the narrative of him being the innocent and religious-minded head of Guru Nanak Gurudwara in Surrey, Canada.

  • A dossier put together by Indian intelligence agencies claims that he became the head of the Sikh temple by threatening his own cousin and the temple’s former president Raghbir Singh Nijjar.
  • Nijjar, the dossier adds, was an old associate of Khalistan Commando Force (KCF) terrorist Gurdeep Singh aka Deepa Heranwala, who was involved in over 200 killings in Punjab in late 1980s and early 1990s.
  • He was initiated into crime by another gang lord, Gurnek Singh aka Neka.
  • Nijjar escaped to Canada on a forged passport in the name of “Ravi Sharma” in 1996 and kept a low profile as a truck driver and a plumber, the dossier adds.
  • He came in touch with Pakistan based KTF chief Jagtar Singh Tara and visited Pakistan under the cover of being a Baisakhi jatha member in April 2012, it says.
  • He was radicalised by Tara and cultivated by Pakistan spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), with the former imparting him arms and explosives training in 2012 and 2013.
  • The dossier even claims that in 2013, Tara sent the US-based Harjot Singh Birring to Canada to train Nijjar in using a handheld GPS device.
  • In 2015, after the deportation of Jagtar Singh Tara to India from Thailand, Nijjar assumed the role of operations chief of KTF.
• Sep 23, 2023 07:14 AM IST

  Who was Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Khalistan terrorist at centre of standoff between India and Canada?

  India -Canada news LIVE updates: Canada on Monday expelled a top Indian diplomat amid probe into the killing of pro-Khalistan terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on its soil. Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau claimed ‘credible allegations of a potential link’ between agents of the Indian government and the killing of the Khalistani terrorist.

  Hardeep Singh Nijjar was gunned down on June 18 outside a Sikh cultural centre in Surrey, British Columbia. “Any involvement of a foreign government in the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil is an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty,” Trudeau said in the Canadian parliament.

• Sep 23, 2023 06:54 AM IST

  Recap: What triggered diplomatic row between India-Canada

  India-Canada news LIVE updates: On Monday, Canadian PM Justin Trudeau alleged India's role behind the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. India has out-rightly denied such allegations calling them ‘absurd’ and ‘motivated’. India on Tuesday expelled a senior Canadian diplomat in a reciprocal move to Canada expelling a senior Indian diplomat in light of the claim of New Delhi's involvement in the killing of the wanted separatist leader.

  On Thursday, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that the allegations made by Canada regarding the "potential links" of India behind the killing of Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar are “politically driven”.

  The MEA spokesperson further said no information has been shared by Canada regarding the killing of Nijjar.

  Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the chief of Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) — a Sikh extremist organisation banned by India — and a “designated terrorist” was gunned down in Canada's Surrey in June.

• Sep 23, 2023 06:40 AM IST

  India-Canada news: 'Want to work constructively with India', says Justin Trudeau

  India-Canada news LIVE updates: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday (local time) said that Ottawa wants to "work constructively with India" regarding the alleged involvement of New Delhi in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, designated as a terrorist by India.

  While addressing a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Trudeau said, “In regards to India, Canada has shared the credible allegations that I talked about on Monday. With India, we did that many weeks ago. We are there to work constructively with India and we hope that they engage with us so that we can get to the bottom of this very serious matter.”

• Sep 23, 2023 06:26 AM IST

  Trade talks with India to continue despite Canada's allegations: Sunak

  Britain will continue trade talks with India despite allegations from Ottawa that the Indian government was involved in the murder of a Sikh separatist leader in Canada, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's spokesperson said on Tuesday.

  • The spokesperson reiterated that Britain was in touch with Canada about the "serious allegations" but said it would not have a bearing on trade talks with India.
• Sep 23, 2023 06:04 AM IST

  India yet to get info that backs Canada claim

  India-Canada news LIVE updates: India has yet to receive information through official channels that support Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s accusation of Indian involvement in the killing of Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, people familiar with the matter said on Friday amid a massive diplomatic row between the two countries over the slaying.

  The Canadian side had not formally provided any evidence or information on the case before, during or after Trudeau’s allegation in Canada’s Parliament of a “potential link” between Indian government agents and the killing of Nijjar, a designated terrorist, in Surrey, British Columbia, in June, the people added.

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