OTTAWA – Canada said on Monday it had credible information linking Indian government agents to the killing of a Sikh separatist leader in British Columbia in June and said it had expelled a senior Indian intelligence official.
The announcement marks a sharp deterioration in bilateral relations at a time when India is already unhappy that Canadian authorities are not cracking down on Sikh protesters who want their own homeland.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said any involvement of a foreign government in the killing of Canadians was “an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty”.
Hardeep Singh Nijjar, was shot dead outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18.
Nijjar supports a Sikh homeland in the form of an independent Khalistani state and was designated by India as a “terrorist” in July 2020, The Tribune India newspaper said.
“Canadian security agencies are actively pursuing credible allegations of potential links between Indian government agents” and Nijjar’s death, Trudeau said in an emergency statement to the House of Representatives.
A sign outside the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara is seen after the June 2023 assassination in its compound of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada September 18, 2023.REUTERS
Canadian PM Justin Trudeau addresses the House of Commons on Monday.AP
“Canada has expressed its deep concern to the top intelligence and security officials of the Indian government.
Last week at the G20 I took them personally and directly to Prime Minister Modi in no uncertain terms.”
The Indian high commission (embassy) in Ottawa did not respond to a request for comment.
New Delhi said last week that Modi had conveyed strong concerns about protests in Canada against India to Trudeau.
People walk under signs outside the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara temple after the killing in the area of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar.REUTERS
Canada has the highest population of Sikhs outside of their home state of Punjab in India, and the country has been the site of many demonstrations that have angered India.
Canada is home to one of the largest overseas communities of Indian origin, numbering about 1.4 million out of Canada’s total population of 40 million. About 770,000 people reported Sikhism as their religion in the 2021 Census.
The two countries, which earlier this year said they could agree on the outline of a trade deal by the end of 2023, have now frozen talks on the deal. Canada provided few details while India cited “certain political developments.”
A sign outside the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara temple. Reuters
Bilateral trade in 2022 will amount to just C$13.7 billion out of a total of C$1.52 trillion, according to Statistics Canada.
Trudeau did not directly accuse India of being involved and Foreign Minister Melanie Joly later used more cautious language, saying “if proven true” the allegations were unacceptable.
Joly told reporters that Ottawa had fired India’s intelligence chief in Canada but gave no further details.
“In the strongest possible terms, I continue to urge the Indian government to work with Canada to resolve this matter,” Trudeau said.
Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc said several senior Canadian government officials had visited India recently to express Ottawa’s concerns.
In April, India asked Britain to step up monitoring of UK-based supporters of the Sikh separatist movement. New Delhi was upset after protesters carrying “Khalistan” banners removed the Indian flag from the diplomatic mission building in London.
Reporting by David Ljunggren and Steve Scherer; Editing by Mark Porter, William Maclean and Sandra Maler
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
