Touch upon this storyComment
TORONTO — Canadian authorities are pursuing “credible allegations” tying brokers of the Indian authorities to the slaying of a distinguished Sikh chief on Canadian soil in June, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau informed lawmakers Monday.
Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen who advocated for the creation of a separate Sikh state within the Punjab area of India, was shot lifeless in his automobile by two masked gunmen exterior the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara temple in Surrey, British Columbia. Nijjar, who was born in India however based mostly in Canada, was president of the temple. He was 45.
Trudeau, talking within the Home of Commons on Monday afternoon, didn’t element the allegations. He mentioned he had taken his “deep issues” to prime Indian safety and intelligence officers and in addition conveyed them “personally and immediately” and “in no unsure phrases” to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Group of 20 summit this month.
“Any involvement of a overseas authorities within the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil is an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty,” he mentioned. “It’s opposite to the basic guidelines by which free, open and democratic societies conduct themselves.”
Trudeau mentioned Canadian authorities had been coordinating with their allies. He urged the Indian authorities to cooperate with them “to unravel this matter.”
The Indian Excessive Fee in Canada — the equal of an embassy amongst Commonwealth nations — didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Melanie Joly, Canada’s overseas minister, informed reporters Monday that she had ordered the expulsion of an Indian diplomat whom she referred to as “the pinnacle” of Indian intelligence in Canada. She mentioned Trudeau had raised the difficulty with President Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, and that it could be a subject of debate on the U.N. Common Meeting in New York this week.
Dominic Leblanc, Canada’s public security minister, informed reporters that Canadian safety officers had made a number of journeys to India in latest weeks to fulfill with their counterparts about Nijjar’s slaying. He didn’t immediately reply repeated questions on whether or not Indian authorities are hindering Canada’s investigation.
Canada is residence to one of many world’s largest Sikh diaspora communities, and Nijjar’s homicide on June 18 rattled it. Police referred to as the incident “focused,” and his lawyer informed native media that he had been warned by the Canadian Safety Intelligence Service of threats towards him.
The killing sparked protests in Canada and overseas, and a few Sikhs mentioned they believed the Indian authorities, which had labeled Nijjar a “terrorist,” was concerned.
“The importance of as we speak’s announcement can’t be understated for Sikhs,” Tejinder Singh Sidhu, president of the World Sikh Group of Canada, mentioned in an announcement. “In the present day, the prime minister of Canada has publicly mentioned what Sikhs in Canada have identified for many years — India actively targets Sikhs in Canada.”
Trudeau on Monday acknowledged that members of the Indo-Canadian neighborhood “are feeling indignant or maybe frightened.”
“Allow us to not permit this to vary us,” he mentioned. “Allow us to stay calm and steadfast in our dedication to our democratic rules and our adherence to the rule of legislation.”
The prime minister’s announcement got here amid a backdrop of strained ties between Canada and India. Canadian officers mentioned this week that they had canceled a long-planned commerce mission to Mumbai subsequent month. Modi didn’t maintain an official bilateral assembly with Trudeau through the Group of 20 summit, however chided him on the sidelines, in line with New Delhi.
Modi conveyed “sturdy issues about persevering with anti-India actions of extremist parts in Canada,” India’s ministry of exterior affairs mentioned in an announcement on Sept. 10. “They’re selling secessionism and inciting violence towards Indian diplomats, damaging diplomatic premises and threatening the Indian neighborhood in Canada and their locations of worship.”