Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testifies at the Foreign Interference Commission in Ottawa on October 16, 2024. Photo: The Canadian Press via AP
Talks with India regarding G-20 summit to be held in New Delhi in 2023 Khalistani activist murderedHardeep Singh Nijjar Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a federal commission investigating foreign interference in the country that these were based on intelligence and not evidence.
Mr Trudeau on Wednesday (October 16, 2024) repeated the allegation that India was involved in the murder. He said the decision to go public on such a sensitive issue was made to reassure Canadians that the government is serious about their safety. “We wanted the public to know that we are taking action…” Mr. Trudeau said.
The Canadian Prime Minister said that “if India did this it was a big mistake”, adding that his government had “reasons to believe that India did this”. There was no discussion of the evidence at the hearing as the proceedings moved on to other matters.
Mr. Trudeau said Canada does not want to escalate the current state of tension with India. “My position and Canada’s position is to protect the territorial integrity of India. ‘One India’ is our policy. There are many people in Canada who argue otherwise, but that doesn’t make it our policy. It’s not anything that’s illegal in Canada,” he said. He said when concerns were raised with India, its response was to “attack Canada, to undermine the integrity of our government and our democracy.”
The Canadian PM said that intelligence on Nijjar’s killing was collected at the request of his country’s South Asian members of parliament.
On intelligence gathering about India’s alleged involvement, “Our immediate response was to communicate with Indian security agencies… Our effort was to ensure that India-Canada relations were not deteriorated. At the G-20 summit … we didn’t want to make it uncomfortable for India,” Mr. Trudeau said, adding that he spoke directly to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue.
Mr. Trudeau said it was not surprising that India refused to waive diplomatic immunity for its officials facing Canadian charges, suggesting that Canada would also reject such requests.
published – October 17, 2024 12:02 am IST