Diplomatic Flare up Between India and Canada
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Diplomatic Flare up Between India and Canada
Diplomatic Flare up Between India and Canada has spread over the news headlines.
The Canadian government has accumulated both human and signals intelligence in a months-long inquiry of a Sikh activist’s murder,murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, which it has indicted was done by India, CBC News reported on September 22.
The severe tensions flared up on Monday after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Ottawa was “actively pursuing credible allegations” linking Indian government agents to the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in June this year outside a Sikh temple in British Columbia.
The two countries, whose relations have been straining in recent years over the matter of Sikh separatists, have since announced tit-for-tat removal of senior diplomats and issued tit-for-tat travel advisories.
Indian PM Narendra Modi’s government refused any links to the alleged murder. While asking India to cooperate with the investigation into the murder, Canada reiterated on Thursday it would not release its evidence.
A cautious approach has been taken by traditional Canadian allies so far to the matter. Analysts say this is partly because the United States and other major players see India as a counterbalancing weight to the burgeoning influence of China.
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“intelligence includes communications involving Indian officials themselves, including Indian diplomats present in Canada”.
_ CBC News
It included that the intelligence “did not come solely from Canada” and some was also provided by “an unnamed ally in the Five Eyes” alliance — an intelligence-sharing network that includes the US, the UK, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.
The Canadian publication went on to add that the murdered Sikh leader “reportedly had been warned by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service that his life was at stake”.
The report further said that “in a diplomatic crisis that unfolded progressively behind the scenes, Canadian officials went to India on several occasions calling for cooperation” in the probe of Hardeep’s death.
CBC News said that Canada’s National Security and Intelligence Adviser Jody Thomas was in India over four days in mid-August. Another five-day visit this month overlapped with a “tense meeting” between the two countries’ prime ministers, it also added.
The report quoted Canadian sources as saying:
“When pressed behind closed doors, no Indian official has denied the bombshell allegation at the core of this case — that there is evidence to suggest Indian government involvement in the assassination of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil.”
“I can assure you that the decision to share these allegations on the floor of the House of Commons … was not done lightly,” said Trudeau as stating yesterday after attending the 78th UN General Assembly in New York. “It was done with the utmost seriousness.
‘Not some special exemption’ for India,
US says
Mearnwhile, the US is in contact with Indians at high levels and Washington is giving India no “special exemption” in the matter, its national security adviser Jake Sullivan reported on Thursday.
The United States has been seeking to reinforce its relationship with India. President Joe Biden hosted Modi for a state visit at the US president house, White House, earlier this year.
Asked whether US concern over the incident could halt that process, Sullivan said the United States would stand up for its principles, regardless of what country is affected.
“It is a matter of concern for us. It is something we take seriously. It is something we will keep working on, and we will do that regardless of the country,” Sullivan told reporters at the White House.
“There’s not some special immunity you get for acts like this. Regardless of the country, we will stand up and defend our underlying principles and we will also seek advice to work closely with allies like Canada as they pursue their law enforcement and diplomatic process.”
Sullivan noted that the United States was in contact with both Canada and India about the topic. “We are in constan contact with our Canadian colleagues … and we have also been in contact with the Indian government,” Sullivan said.
Earlier, John Kirby, spokesperson for the White House National Security Council (NSC) had said it supported Canada’s efforts to investigate the killing and encouraged India to cooperate in the probe.
Separately, another NSC spokesperson, Adrienne Watson, had refused reports that the US had “rebuffed” Canada over the matter.
Australia had expressed “grave concern” over Canada’s allegations while Britain said it was in close touch with its Canadian partners about the “serious indictments”.
Pakistani premiere Anwaarul Haq Kakar had a day ago termed the rising tides of Hindutva or Hindu nationalism a “matter of serious concern” for the international community.
The Foreign Office had also said the accusation showed that New Delhi’s “network of extra-territorial killings” had gone global while Foreign Secretary Syrus Qazi said Pakistan was not taken by surprised by the Canadian allegations of the killing.