Canada and India Exchanged Intelligence On The Death Of Nijjar Weeks Ago, Says Trudeau

The Canadian Prime Minister stated, "We are there to work in a constructive manner with India."

The assassination of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia weeks ago may have involved Indian government operatives, according to evidence shared by Canada with New Delhi, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Friday.

“Canada has informed India of the reliable allegations I discussed on Monday. At a news conference in Ottawa, Mr. Trudeau said, “We did that many weeks ago. We are there to cooperate with India in a positive way. We sincerely hope that they will cooperate with us so that we may investigate this extremely important issue.

When Mr. Trudeau said on Monday that Ottawa had reliable information connecting Indian government officials to the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June, New Delhi reacted angrily. Nijjar, 45, was a citizen of Canada.

In a months-long inquiry into the killing of the Sikh separatist leader, the Canadian government has gathered both human and signal information, according to a separate Thursday report by CBC News citing sources.

According to the paper, the intelligence included conversations from Indian officials who were present in Canada. It also stated that some of the material came from an unnamed Five Eyes Alliance ally.

The United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are all members of the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network.

However, Mr. Trudeau has not given any information regarding the data that Canada’s intelligence agencies have gathered, and neither has his office either verified nor refuted the CBC report.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated on Friday that “accountability” for the assassination was something the country needed to see.

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In a press conference, Mr. Blinken told reporters, “We are profoundly worried about the concerns that Prime Minister Trudeau has expressed. Similar worries have been voiced by the White House, but Mr. Blinken is the highest-ranking American official to have spoken out on the subject so far.

Kavya Bhatt