Piggybacking on USA's allegations, Trudeau urges India to take Canada's claims seriously
Justin Trudeau
Amid claims made by the US government thatit foiled an assassination attempt against a Sikh separatist leader on its soil by an Indian man, Canada's Justin Trudeau has chimed in with a response. The Canadian prime minister urged India to take Ottawa's allegations seriously, referring to the murder of another separatist leader, Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Vancouver, earlier this year.
India and Canada have been in a diplomatic standoff ever since Trudeau addressed theparliament and said his government had 'credible allegations' that New Delhi was involved in the killing of the Khalistani separatist.
"The news coming out of the United States further underscores what we've been talking about from the very beginning, which is that India needs to take this seriously,"Trudeau told reporters in Ottawa.
"The Indian government needs to work with us to ensure that we're getting to the bottom of this," he added.
Notably, Trudeau had remained quiet on the issue for some time but hours after US Justice Department on Wednesday (Nov 29) said it wascharging a 52-year-old Indian man for a plot to assassinate Khalistani separatist and leader of the banned Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) outfit Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the liberal Canadian PM came up with a statement.
The Justice Department said the Indian man, identified as Nikhil Gupta, arrested by Czech authorities in June, had worked with an Indian government employee.
"The defendant conspired from India to assassinate, right here in New York City, a US citizen of Indian origin who has publicly advocated for the establishment of a sovereign state for Sikhs," Damian Williams, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, said in a statement.
Watch |Canadian minister dodges direct question on Nijjar killing evidence
Ottawa yet to submit proof
After Trudeau's allegations concerning Nijjar, diplomatic animosity reached a tipping point between the two nations,with aseries of mutual expulsions of diplomats taking place.
New Delhi was the first to temporarily suspend certain visa services which put Ottawa in a fix. However, despite the allegations, the Canadian government is yet to present proof to back up its allegations.
Nijjar, the 45-year-old Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) chief was shotdead on June 18 by two unidentified men in the parking lot of Guru Nanak Gurdwara Sahib in Surrey, Canada. Hehad moved to Canada in the late 1990s and was declared a designated terrorist by India in 2020.
(With inputs from agencies)