The official agreed to speak to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly ahead of the Canadian government’s formal public response, which is expected later Tuesday. He confirmed previous reports from Financial times.
When asked about the situation upon arrival in the House of Commons on Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he wanted to avoid escalating tensions with India.
“We will continue to take this seriously. “This is a difficult situation with the Government of India, but we have work to do on the ground, we have work to do to move the relationship forward and resolve these issues,” Trudeau said.
“We will remain steadfast. “We will not try to provoke, but we will continue to be present on the pitch,” he added.
Meanwhile, India’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to comment.
Two weeks ago, Trudeau told Parliament of ‘credible allegations’ that India played a role in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a 45-year-old Sikh leader who was killed by masked gunmen in June in the Vancouver suburb of Surrey. . For years, India has claimed that Nijjar, a Canadian citizen born in India, had links to terrorism, but this has always been denied by the person concerned.
The fact that a foreign government is sponsoring the murder of Canadian citizens in Canada, where nearly two million people of Indian origin live, is unprecedented.
India has for years criticized Canada for giving freedom to Sikh separatists, including Nijjar.
India also canceled visas for Canadian citizens, but Canada did not respond. However, both countries have announced that they have expelled diplomats from their countries, shortly after Mr. Trudeau in the House of Commons.
The allegations of Indian involvement in Nijjar’s killing are based in part on surveillance of Indian diplomats in Canada, as well as intelligence provided by key Ottawa allies, another Canadian official told the Associated Press.
This whole saga has exacerbated tensions between the two countries. Trudeau met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the G20 meeting held in New Delhi. Days later, Canada canceled a trade mission to India planned for this fall.
Nijjar, a plumber, was also one of the leaders of the remnants of a once-powerful movement to create an independent Sikh homeland, known as Khalistan. A bloody Sikh rebellion rocked northern India for a decade in the 1970s and 1980s, until the country was crushed by a government crackdown that killed thousands, including prominent Sikh leaders.
The Khalistan movement has lost much of its political power, but still has supporters in the Indian state of Punjab, as well as the Sikh diaspora abroad. Although the active insurgency ended several years ago, the Indian government has repeatedly warned that Sikh separatists are trying to make a comeback.
