Justin Trudeau, the prime minister of Canada, stated on Thursday that Canada will not make its evidence public and urged India to assist in an inquiry into the killing of a Sikh separatist head in British Columbia.
Inciting a furious response from New Delhi, Trudeau stated on Monday that Ottawa had serious charges connecting Indian government officials to the death of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June. Nijjar, 45, was Canadian citizen.
According to a separate report published on Thursday by CBC News, quoting sources, the Canadian government has gathered both human and signal information in its months-long inquiry into the killing of the leader of the Sikh separatist movement.
So far, traditional allies of Canada have acted with a fair amount of caution. Political observers said that part of the reason for this was that the US and other key players view India as a counterbalance to the rising dominance of China.
During a news conference in New York on the sidelines of the yearly high-level United Nations General Assembly, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated that there is no doubt that India is a nation of increasing importance and one that they need to continue working with, and they are not attempting to instigate or create issues. However, they are also unwavering in their support for the rule of law and commitment to safeguarding Canadians.
To develop procedures to find and uncover the truth, they therefore request the Indian government's cooperation.
According to the CBC article, which cited Canadian sources, no Indian official has refuted the claim that there is evidence pointing to Indian government complicity in Nijjar's killing when pressed behind closed doors. The article said some of the material was provided by an unnamed ally in the Five Eyes alliance and that it included contacts involving Indian officials, including Indian diplomats stationed in Canada.
The United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are members of the Five Eyes network, which exchanges intelligence.
According to US national security advisor Jake Sullivan on Thursday, Washington is in contact with both India and Canada on the charges made by Ottawa. This is the first time that Washington is talking with New Delhi concerning this matter.
The foreign ministry of India claimed that no specific details concerning the murder had been disclosed by Canada. When questioned about when Canada would reveal the evidence it had, Trudeau responded that, as a country with a robust and independent judicial system, they allow those legal processes to unfold themselves with the highest integrity.
On Thursday, India halted the issuance of new visas to Canadians and requested that Ottawa scale up its diplomatic presence there. When questioned about these steps, Trudeau didn't respond.
Separately, an Indian trade official asserted that there was no justification for Canadian pension funds to abandon their investments in the nation.