OTTAWA, Sept 19 (Reuters) – Canada is not seeking to provoke India by suggesting it is linked to the killing of a Sikh separatist leader, but wants New Delhi to address the issue appropriately, the country said on Tuesday. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Trudeau announced Monday that Canadian intelligence agencies were actively pursuing credible allegations linking New Delhi agents to the shooting of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, 45, in British Columbia in June, in a rare such attack on the largest democracy of the world.
India quickly dismissed the claim as absurd and said it was expelling a Canadian diplomat, worsening already poor diplomatic relations between the two G20 members.
Following India’s refusal, the conservative opposition pressured Trudeau to make public the evidence he had.
Trudeau said Tuesday that Ottawa decided to speak now because “we wanted to make sure that we had a solid basis for understanding what was going on…we wanted to make sure that we took the time to speak with our allies.”
He told reporters the case had far-reaching consequences for international law.
“The Indian government must take this issue with utmost seriousness. We are doing so; we are not seeking to provoke or escalate,” he said.
The affair derailed lengthy negotiations over a possible bilateral trade deal.
A source familiar with the matter said Canada’s decisions on September 1 to suspend negotiations and on September 15 to postpone a major trade mission planned for next month were directly linked to concerns over the killing.
The source said they could not be identified, as they were not authorized to speak to journalists.
Canadian officials have so far refused to say why they believe India might be linked to Nijjar’s killing.
The evidence “will all be shared in due course,” said a senior Canadian government source, who requested anonymity given the sensitivity of the situation.
“The Prime Minister has not provided any facts. We need the evidence that allowed the Prime Minister to draw conclusions yesterday,” Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre told reporters.
Canada has worked very closely with the United States, including on Trudeau’s statement Monday regarding his country’s concerns over the killing, the government source said.
[1/5]Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada September 19, 2023. REUTERS/Blair Gable acquire license rights
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Nijjar’s son, Balraj, 21, said Tuesday that he always suspected India was behind the killing, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported.
“It was only a matter of time before the truth came out,” he was quoted as saying.
Sikh and Muslim organizations welcomed Trudeau’s remarks and called on his government to take swift action, including protecting Canada’s Sikhs under threat and preventing Indian nationals linked to intelligence forces or human rights abuses from enter Canada, among other immediate measures.
“To see a Canadian attacked on Canadian soil by a foreign country – I think we cannot underestimate how shocking this news is,” said Mukhbir Singh, board member of the World Sikh Organization of Canada, during a press conference.
National Council of Canadian Muslims Executive Director Stephen Brown, speaking alongside Singh, added: “This assassination was an attack on all of us as Canadians. This is why we must act. »
New Delhi, which has urged Ottawa to act against anti-India elements, has long been unhappy with Sikh separatist activities in Canada.
Nijjar supported the creation of a Sikh homeland in the form of a so-called independent state of Khalistan, in the northern Indian state of Punjab, the birthplace of the Sikh religion, bordering Pakistan. India designated him a “terrorist” in 2020.
Canada has the largest population of Sikhs outside of Punjab, with approximately 770,000 people reporting Sikhism as their religion in the 2021 census.
India is particularly sensitive to Sikh protesters in Canada, with some Indian analysts saying Ottawa is not stopping them because Sikhs are a politically influential group.
The United States and Australia expressed “deep concern” over Canada’s accusations. U.S. authorities have urged India to cooperate with the investigation, a senior State Department official told reporters at a press briefing on Tuesday.
Canada and India are trying to boost their low levels of bilateral trade, which in 2022 accounted for just C$13.7 billion ($10.2 billion) out of a total of C$1.52 trillion . Both parties announced that they were freezing negotiations.
Britain, meanwhile, said it would continue trade talks with India despite the allegations.
($1 = 1.3415 Canadian dollars)
Reporting by David Ljunggren and Steve Scherer; additional reporting by Susan Heavey; edited by Jonathan Oatis and Marguerita Choy
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