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Justin Trudeau says Canada shared details with 'Five Eyes' allies on Hardeep Nijjar killing
Justin Trudeau's statement comes after India expelled six Canadian diplomats and recalled its high commissioner along with other “targeted” officials.
Canada has shared all the information it possesses regarding allegations of Indian officials' involvement in the killing of Sikh extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar last year with its Five Eyes partners, particularly the United States, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said.
Justin Trudeau's remarks came during a press conference held after India, on Monday, expelled six Canadian diplomats and recalled its high commissioner along with other "targeted" officials. This move followed India's strong rejection of Ottawa's accusations linking the Indian envoy to the investigation into Hardeep Singh Nijjar's death, marking a significant deterioration in the already strained relations between the two countries.
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“From the beginning, as of last summer, we have worked closely with our Five Eyes partners, particularly with the United States, where they have gone through a similar pattern of behaviour from India in regards to an attempted extrajudicial killing,” Justin Trudeau told reporters at a news conference in Ottawa.
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“We will continue to work with our allies as we stand up together for the rule of law,” the Canadian PM said.
The US State Department has, so far, not made any statements on the fresh diplomatic crisis between India and Canada.
The ministry of external affairs (MEA), in a statement, said India reserves the right to take further steps in response to the Justin Trudeau government's support for extremism, violence and separatism against India.
Trudeau's hostility to India has long been in evidence, the MEA said.
“In 2018, his visit to India, which was aimed at currying favour with a vote bank, rebounded to his discomfort. His cabinet has included individuals who have openly associated with an extremist and separatist agenda regarding India. His interference in Indian internal politics in December 2020 showed how far he was willing to go in this regard," the ministry said.
During the press conference, Justin Trudeau said the situation is extremely undesirable.
Also Read | Indian diplomats expelled for violating sovereignty, international law: Trudeau
“Not only do we not want Canadians to be subjected to violence in their communities, in their homes, but we also do not want to have these tensions in relations with India,” he said.
“That is why last week, we approached the Government of India through our security agencies, diplomats and police agencies, to look for a way to resolve this deep difference…. to protect Canadians… but not to come and destroy the good relations or the relations between India and Canada,” Trudeau said.
Unfortunately, India has “not chosen to work with us. They have chosen to deny, repel and to make personal attacks against this government and question the integrity of our agencies and our institutions, and we have had to respond to protect Canadians”, Trudeau further said.
“I believe that India has made a monumental mistake by choosing to use their diplomats and organised crime to attack Canadians, to make them feel unsafe here at (their) home, and even more, to create acts of violence and even murder. It's unacceptable,” Trudeau alleged.
Trudeau said he met and spoke with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in this regard last week.
“As the RCMP Commissioner stated earlier, they have clear and compelling evidence that agents of the Government of India have engaged in and continue to engage in activities that pose a significant threat to public safety, including clandestine information gathering techniques, coercive behaviour targeting South Asian Canadians, and involvement in over a dozen threatening and violent acts, including murder,” he said.
While attempts have been made by the RCMP and national security officials to work with India and their law enforcement counterparts on this matter, they have been repeatedly refused, Trudeau claimed.
“This is why, this weekend, Canadian officials took an extraordinary step. They met with Indian officials to share RCMP evidence which concluded six agents of the Government of India are persons of interest in criminal activities,” he alleged.
“Despite repeated requests to India, It has decided not to cooperate,” he claimed.
India withdraws high commissioner, other officials from Canada; trashes charges of involvement in Nijjar plot
India trashes charges of involvement in Nijjar plot
India announced withdrawing its high commissioner and other "targeted diplomats and officials" from Canada after strongly dismissing Ottawa's allegations linking the envoy to an investigation into the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
India's decision came shortly after the Canadian Charge d'Affaires Stewart Wheelers was summoned to the MEA and was told bluntly that the baseless “targeting” of Indian high commissioner Sanjay Verma and other diplomats and officials was “completely unacceptable”.
New Delhi described the charges against Verma as “concocted” and “preposterous imputations” and ascribed the allegations to the “political agenda of the Trudeau government that is centred around vote bank politics”.
