India has rejected Justin Trudeau’s allegation as “absurd”. (File)
New Delhi:
Amid a huge diplomatic row over the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Canada has updated its travel advisory, asking its citizens in India to “stay vigilant and exercise caution”.
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“In the context of recent developments in Canada and in India, there are calls for protests and some negative sentiment towards Canada on social media. Please remain vigilant and exercise caution,” the Canadian government said in an updated advisory.
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Khalistani sympathisers protested outside the Indian embassies and consulates in Canada’s Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver today over Nijjar’s killing. Protesters – led by the members of a pro-Khalistani outfit -‘Sikhs For Justice’ (SFJ) – were seen raising slogans and waving Khalistani flags.
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The protests come a week after Canada Prime minister Justin Trudeau kicked up a massive diplomatic row between the two countries, alleging that “Indian government agents” could be behind the shooting of Nijjar.
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Sources say pro-Khalistani extremists (PKE) have started openly intimidating minority Hindus there, and many instances of defacing of temples have been reported.
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“The open threats by Khalistanis to the physical security of Indian missions and diplomats in Canada is a very serious development and challenges the obligation of Canada under the Vienna Convention,” a senior government officer who’s closely monitoring the situation said, requesting anonymity.
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India has rejected Justin Trudeau’s allegation as “absurd”. Canada has shared no specific information regarding its charges, India said, flagging “politically condoned hate crimes and criminal violence” in that country.
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India has also accused Canada of not acting upon “specific evidence about criminal activities” done by Canada-based individuals. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has prepared a list of 19 fugitive Khalistani terrorists living in UK, US, Canada, Dubai, Pakistan and other countries whose properties are also likely be confiscated, sources said.
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Justin Trudeau also claimed that such “credible allegations” were shared with India weeks ago. “Canada has shared the credible allegations that I talked about on Monday with India. We did that many weeks ago. We are there to work constructively with India. We hope that they engage with us so that we can get to the bottom of this very serious matter,” he told a news conference on Saturday.
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Top US diplomat David Cohen claimed that it was the “shared intelligence among ‘Five Eyes’ partners that had prompted Justin Trudeau go public with his big charge against India. Canadian Defence Minister Bill Blair called the relationship with India “important,” but asserted that allegations over the killing of Nijjar should be investigated.
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Nijjar, 45, was shot dead outside a gurdwara in Canada’s British Columbia in June. He was chief of the banned Khalistan Tiger Force and one of India’s most wanted terrorists.
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