Prime Minister Justin Trudeau requested that India treat Canada’s claims of New Delhi’s potential complicity in the murder of a Sikh expatriate with “utmost seriousness,” a concern shared by Washington.
Canada warns India: A senior Canadian diplomat from New Delhi and an Indian intelligence official were both expelled in retaliation for Canada’s assertion.
“India needs to treat this situation really seriously. Trudeau told reporters, “We are doing that, and we are not aiming to provoke or escalate.
Canada declared on Monday that there were “credible allegations” that New Delhi-connected agents were behind the assassination of Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar on June 18 in front of a Sikh cultural centre in a suburb of Vancouver.
The Narendra Modi administration in India said that the prime minister had “completely rejected” Canada’s claims on the unsolved homicide.
The foreign ministry issued a statement saying, “Allegations of Government of India involvement in any act of violence in Canada are preposterous.
Washington, however, backed Ottawa in requesting that India divulge any information it may have regarding the murder.
Prime Minister Trudeau’s references to some claims have the National Security Council and its spokeswoman, Adrienne Watson, “deeply concerned.”
Furthermore, “We continue to communicate often with our Canadian partners. Continuing Canada’s probe and prosecuting the offenders is crucial.
Indian authorities wanted Nijjar, a proponent of Khalistan, a Sikh state, for his alleged involvement in terrorism and murderous plots.
“Canada-India Relations Strained Amid Sikh Leader’s Murder Investigation”
According to the World Sikh Organisation of Canada, a nonprofit group that claims to represent the interests of Canadian Sikhs, he had refuted the accusations.
Since the Sikh leader’s murder and the protests that followed in Canada, relations between Canada and India have become tense.
However, The Indian government accuses Ottawa of doing nothing to stop the actions of extreme Sikh nationalists who support carving out a separate Sikh state from northern India.
Further, At the UN, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly stated that his country wanted India’s “full cooperation” with Canada in the investigation.
Additionally, The situation, according to Trudeau, is “extremely serious” and “has far-reaching consequences… for Canada.”
However, According to Trudeau, his administration worked closely with its intelligence services and did not rush to render a decision in this issue.