Ottawa (Canada), October 16, 2024: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified on Wednesday that his government did not provide India with hard evidence but only intelligence regarding the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil. Speaking at Canada’s foreign interference inquiry, Trudeau acknowledged that India had requested evidence to support the allegations, which were based on intelligence.
“Behind the scenes, we were trying to get India to co-operate with us. Their ask was…give us the evidence you have on us. Our response was it is within your security agency. You should be looking into how much they know, you should be engaging… ‘No, no but show us the evidence’. At that point, it was primarily intelligence, not hard evidentiary proof. So we said, let’s work together,” Trudeau said.
Tensions between India and Canada escalated after Trudeau alleged in Parliament last year that there were “credible allegations” of Indian involvement in the killing of Nijjar. India has consistently rejected these claims, calling them “absurd” and “politically motivated.” Nijjar, designated a terrorist by India’s National Investigation Agency in 2020, was shot dead outside a Gurdwara in Surrey, Canada, in June 2023.
During his testimony, Trudeau also alleged that information about Canadians critical of the Modi government had been passed to Indian authorities, leading to violence against those individuals by criminal organizations, including the Lawrence Bishnoi gang. “We wanted to question Indian diplomats, but they did not waive their diplomatic immunity, which is why we had to ask them to leave,” he added.
Trudeau claimed that in August, intelligence from Canada and the Five Eyes alliance pointed to Indian agents being involved in the killing. “We have real concerns that your security agencies are involved,” Trudeau said, alleging that India undermined Canada’s government and sovereignty. “It is not hard evidence but it is just intelligence at that point.”
In response to Canada’s diplomatic actions, including the expulsion of six Indian diplomats, India retaliated by expelling six Canadian diplomats, including Canada’s Acting High Commissioner to India, Steward Ross Wheeler. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) strongly condemned the targeting of Indian diplomats, calling it “completely unacceptable.”
“We have no faith in the current Canadian Government’s commitment to ensure their security,” the MEA stated, emphasizing that India reserved the right to take further steps in response to what it described as the “Trudeau Government’s support for extremism, violence, and separatism against India.”
India has reiterated its stance that the allegations are part of a politically motivated strategy by the Trudeau government. “The Canadian Government has not shared a shred of evidence with the Government of India, despite many requests from our side,” the MEA emphasized.
As diplomatic relations between the two nations continue to sour, both countries are engaging in a war of words, with India rejecting what it views as baseless accusations and Canada seeking further cooperation on the matter.
