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Canada has 'political compulsion' to blame India for Sikh slaying: New Delhi
The three arrested Indian nationals, all in their twenties, were charged with first degree murder and conspiracy. They were accused of being the shooter, driver and lookout in Nijjar's killing last June.
Indian External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar / X
New Delhi, India- Canada's investigation into alleged Indian involvement in the assassination of a Sikh separatist in Vancouver last year is a "political compulsion", New Delhi's foreign minister said after three Indian citizens were arrested over the killing.
Canadian police on May.3 arrested the trio for the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, saying they were investigating their links to the Indian government, "if any".
The killing sent diplomatic relations between Ottawa and New Delhi into a tailspin last autumn after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there were "credible allegations" linking Indian intelligence to the crime.
India vehemently rejected the allegations as "absurd", halting the processing of visas for a time and forcing Canada to significantly reduce its diplomatic presence in the country.
"It is their political compulsion in Canada to blame India," the Press Trust of India news agency quoted External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar as saying on May.4.
Thousands of people were killed in the 1980s during a separatist insurgency aimed at creating a Sikh homeland known as Khalistan, which was put down by security forces.
The movement has largely petered out within India, but in the Sikh diaspora, whose largest community is in Canada, with around 770,000 people, it retains support among a vocal minority.
New Delhi has sought to persuade Ottawa not to grant Sikh separatists visas or political legitimacy, Jaishankar said, since they are "causing problems for them (Canada), for us and also for our relationship".
He added that Canada does not "share any evidence with us in certain cases, police agencies also do not cooperate with us".
Nijjar immigrated to Canada in 1997 and acquired citizenship 18 years later. He was wanted by Indian authorities for alleged terrorism and conspiracy to commit murder.
The three arrested Indian nationals, all in their twenties, were charged with first degree murder and conspiracy. They were accused of being the shooter, driver and lookout in his killing last June.
The Canadian police said they were aware that "others may have played a role" in the murder.
In November, the US Justice Department charged an Indian citizen living in the Czech Republic with plotting a similar assassination attempt on another Sikh separatist leader on American soil.
A Washington Post investigation reported last week that Indian foreign intelligence officials were involved in the plot, a claim rejected by New Delhi.
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Comments
Sam Patel
2024-05-05 00:00:00
Here is what India should do. 1) Tell Indian students that you may have no Indian Govt. services and protections so go on your own peril. 2) Tell Indians going on permanent and work VISAs that they may not have Indian Govt. services and protections so go on your own peril. 3) Require all Indian NRIs to file taxes in India (and charge 5% tax for incomes over 50K to cover costs of Indian Govt. operations in those countries. After all it costs India a lot of money to protect them when things sour and India has to bring them back; Ukraine, Haiti, Yemen.......USA citizens pay taxes on incomes in India)
Sam Patel
2024-05-05 00:00:00
On future comments on the topic, the official govt. remarks should be "this political survival game of Trudeau to stay in power is a waste of time. India is concerned about the safety of Indians that the Canadian Govt. places them in. Please review our past comments on the matter". India must be bold and speak from a position of power like: India reserves the right to pre-emptive strikes against its enemies on foreign soil much like the strike against Osama bin Laden. India also asks all nations to not harbor Indian criminals both white collar and blue collar. Nijjar is an absconding criminal and wanted man in India. Although India denies all involvement in the attempt to eliminate Nijjar, India takes pleasure that someone wants him eliminated and those "someone" will get proper refuge in India the same way that the country where they operated gave refuge to the Indian criminals and terrorists. Canada and other nations must look inward as to their operations out of their lands in sovereign countries where they eliminate leaders of those countries because they do not sing their song. Lets see how that statement goes. Besides, it is time that India after its elections declare that if the UN is not restructured and realigned to today's world representation, India will continue to be a member will review all decisions by UN bodies, including the Security Council and ICC and decide if it will honor those decisions by the bodies that do not represent today's world.