US, other allies refused to join Canada in condemning India over Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s death: Report

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wanted the Five Eyes alliance members to jointly announce the probe findings that allegedly point to ‘Indian government agents’ role in the death of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, reports Washington Post newspaper.

The Five Eyes (FVEY) is an intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

In the weeks leading up to the G20 Summit in New Delhi, backdoor discussions among the senior officials from the Five Eyes countries took place to discuss the alleged assassination of Nijjar, who obtained Canadian citizenship in 2015.

But some FVEY members, including the US, refused to join Trudeau in publicly condemning India, “underscoring the lengths the Biden administration has gone to avoid antagonising India and court the Asian power as a strategic counterweight to China”, the Post reported, quoting an anonymous Western diplomat.

No public mention was made before the summit, which was seen as an important event for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to The Washington Post.

India-Canada row: India alleges separatists been provided shelter in Canada

Wanted to avoid antagonising India

Despite Trudeau’s efforts to raise Nijjar’s killing with India at the “highest levels of government and issue a joint statement condemning the act as contravening international norms”, all members declined saying that they were not comfortable taking such a step when India was organising a major diplomatic event.

After raising heckles initially, Trudeau attempted to pacify the Indian government following a tit-for-tat expulsion of senior diplomats, saying that Canada wants New Delhi to address the issue properly.

"Canada is not trying to provoke India by suggesting its agents were linked to the murder of a Sikh separatist leader but Ottawa wants New Delhi to address the issue properly," he said on Tuesday (September 19).

"The government of India needs to take this matter with the utmost seriousness. We are doing that, we are not looking to provoke or escalate," he added.

On Monday, in a speech to the House of Commons, Trudeau said the Canadian security agencies have been "actively pursuing credible allegations of a potential link between agents of the Government of India and the killing of a Canadian citizen, Hardeep Singh Nijjar".

(With inputs from agencies)

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