The United States expressed "deep concern" over Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegations regarding the Indian government's alleged involvement in the fatal shooting of Khalistan terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, reported ANI.
Trudeau had recently alleged that the Indian government was behind the shooting of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a designated terrorist in India, outside a Gurdwara in Canada's Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18.
The US called on the Indian government to cooperate with the Canadian investigation and ensure that “those responsible are brought to justice.”
US State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel during a press briefing on October 3 said, “We continue to be deeply concerned about the allegations referenced by Prime Minister Trudeau and we remain in regular contact with our Canadian partners." He added, "It is critical that Canada's investigation proceeds and perpetrators be brought to justice, we also have publicly and privately urged the Indian govt to cooperate in the Canadian investigation.”
During a Canadian Parliament debate, Trudeau claimed that Canada's national security officials had reasons to believe that agents of the Indian government were responsible for Nijjar's killing.
Exciting news! Mint is now on WhatsApp Channels 🚀 Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest financial insights! Click here!
India rejected these claims, dismissing them as ‘absurd and motivated’. Canada has not provided public evidence to support the allegations. Trudeau earlier said that Ottawa wants to "work constructively with India."
During a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Trudeau said, “In regards to India, Canada has shared the credible allegations that I talked about on Monday. With India, we did that many weeks ago.” He added, “We are there to work constructively with India and we hope that they engage with us so that we can get to the bottom of this very serious matter.”
Indian External Affairs Minister Jaishankar stated that the ongoing issue with Canada is due to ‘permissiveness’ by the Canadian government regarding terrorism, extremism, and violence in the country. He stated that the Indian government is open to reviewing any specific and relevant information shared by the Canadian side in connection with the issue.
While addressing a press conference in Washington DC on September 29, Jaishankar said, “Well, I don't know if I would use the term deadlock...The issue is as follows: The Canadians have made some allegations." He added, "We have pointed out to them that this is not the Government of India's policy, and if they are prepared to share with us specifics and anything relevant, we are also open to looking at it. So in that sense, that's where the matter stands”.
(With inputs from ANI)
Catch all the Business News , Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.