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“Canada serious about stronger ties with India,” Trudeau after all the noise about Nijjar killing

Amidst all the tension following the Hardeep Singh Nijjar episode, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has reaffirmed that Canada is…

Statesman News Service | New Delhi | September 29, 2023 12:16 pm

“Canada serious about stronger ties with India,” Trudeau after all the noise about Nijjar killing

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

Amidst all the tension following the Hardeep Singh Nijjar episode, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has reaffirmed that Canada is committed to enhancing its relationship with India despite “credible allegations” that the Indian government was involved in the murder of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

Trudeau emphasised the “extreme importance” of Canada and its allies continuing their strong engagement with India while highlighting the country’s expanding global prominence.

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Speaking at a news conference in Montreal on Thursday, the Canadian prime minister stated that given India’s rising prominence on the international stage, it is “extremely important” for Canada and its allies to keep up a “constructive and serious” dialogue with that country. This was reported by ANI citing National Post.

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India is a significant geopolitical player and a rising economic power. We are quite serious about forging closer ties with India, as we recently stated in our Indo-Pacific policy, he told reporters.

“At the same time, obviously, as a rule of law country, we need to emphasize that India needs to work with Canada to ensure that we get the full facts of this matter,” National Post quoted Trudeau.

During a meeting with the Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar in Washington, DC, scheduled for Thursday, Trudeau said he received assurances from the US that Secretary of State Antony Blinken would address the publicly made allegations regarding India’s involvement in the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

According to National Post, Trudeau stated, “The Americans have been with us in talking to the Indian government about how vital it is that they be involved in following up on the credible claims that operatives of the Indian government killed a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil.

Trudeau highlighted once more that this is a serious issue that needs to be addressed by all democratic and law-abiding countries. “We are moving forward in a thoughtful, responsible way anchored in the rule of law with all of our partners, including in our approach to the Government of India,” he added.
On September 18, Trudeau informed the Canadian House of Commons that Canadian security agencies had been actively looking into “credible allegations of a potential link” between the killing of Nijjar and representatives of the Indian government.

Additionally, he said that he had spoken candidly about these worries with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the G20 Summit and that Canada had alerted India’s senior intelligence and security authorities of its “deep concerns,” according to the National Post.

Trudeau then requested the Indian government to cooperate with Canada in order to conduct a thorough examination into this case.

It’s significant to note that India has vehemently denied these allegations, characterising them as motivated and absurd.

It’s crucial to remember that Prime Minister Trudeau has not presented any publicly accessible proof to back up his assertion that Hardeep Singh Nijjar was murdered.

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