India on September 19, rejected the allegations by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau regarding the Indian Government’s involvement in the fatal shooting of Khalistan Tiger Force chief Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada. In a statement the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) termed the allegations ‘absurd ‘and ‘motivated’.
“We have seen and reject the statement of the Canadian Prime Minister in their Parliament, as also the statement by their Foreign Minister” said the MEA in an official statement.
“Allegations of the Indian Government’s “involvement in any act of violence in Canada are absurd and motivated” the release added.
“Similar allegations were made by the Canadian Prime Minister to our Prime Minister and were completely rejected,” said the official release.
The release said India is a democratic polity with a strong commitment to the rule of law.
“Such unsubstantiated allegations seek to shift the focus from Khalistani terrorists and extremists, who have been provided shelter in Canada and continue to threaten India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The inaction of the Canadian Government on this matter has been a long-standing and continuing concern,” it added.
The release States that Canadian political figures have openly expressed sympathy for such elements and that remain a matter of deep concern.
“The space given in Canada to a range of illegal activities including murders, human trafficking and organised crime is not new” read the release.
India has strongly rejected any attempts to connect the government to such developments. “We urge the Government of Canada to take prompt and effective legal action against all anti-India elements operating from their soil,” the MEA said.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on September 18, accused the Indian Government of being behind the fatal shooting of Khalistan Tiger Force chief Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada, CBC News reported.
Najjar, who was wanted in India, was gunned down outside a Gurdwara, in a parking area in Canada’s Surrey, British Columbia on June 18.
Hailing from Bharsinghpur village in Punjab’s Jalandhar, Nijjar was based in Surrey and had been declared “absconder” by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
Earlier on September 18, speaking in a debate in the Canadian Parliament, Canadian PM Trudeau claimed his country’s national security officials had reasons to believe that “agents of the Indian government” carried out the killing of the Canadian citizen, who also served as the president of Surrey’s Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara.
“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,” Trudeau said.
He stated that the involvement of a foreign hand or Government in the killing of a Canadian citizen in Canada was unacceptable.
“Any involvement of a Foreign Government in the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil is an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty. It is contrary to the fundamental rules by which free, open, and democratic societies conduct themselves,” Trudeau added.
He informed further that he was coordinating with Canadian allies on this issue.
“As you would expect, we have been working closely and coordinating with our allies on this very serious matter,” he said.
(with inputs from ANI)
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