New Delhi:

Two senior aides of Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, one of whom is his national security advisor, Nathalie Drouin, shared confidential information about India – and claimed Delhi ‘interference’ in Ottawa’s affairs – to a United States newspaper, a Canadian publication reported Tuesday.

The information was provided days before Canadian federal police alleged – as Mr Trudeau has in the past, but without concrete evidence – that “agents” of the Indian government work with criminal gangs to “target South Asians… specifically pro-Khalistani elements” in that country.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Commissioner Mike Duhene and his deputy, Brigitte Gauvin, told reporters they believed Indian government “agents” had ties with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, and were involved in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen, in June last year, as well as case of “extortion, intimidation, and coercion”.

India had strongly rejected what it called “preposterous imputations” and underlined that since allegations were first made – by Mr Trudeau in September last year – the Canadian government “has not shared a shred of evidence with the Government of India, despite many requests…”

READ | “As We Said, No Evidence…”: India On Justin Trudeau’s Deposition

That sentiment was underlined last week after Mr Trudeau told a Commission of Inquiry he had only intel-based speculation and no “proof” when he linked “agents” of Delhi to Nijjar’s killing.

Canada Officials, US Paper Met?

Canada newspaper The Globe and Mail said its sources had spoken of Ms Drouin and David Morrison, the Deputy Minister of Global Affairs, briefing the Washington Post on various aspects of India’s ‘interference’, including involvement in the September 2023 killing of another Sikh leader, Sukhdool Gill, a gangster from Punjab’s Moga linked to the Khalistani terror movement.

Gill was killed two days after Mr Trudeau first accused India in the Nijjar killing.

Spokespersons for Ms Drouin and Mr Morrison have claimed no information was shared, but spoke of an unsealed United States indictment from November 2023. According to The Globe and Mail, this, however, did not name Gill or the other Canadian targeted for assassination.

The Post, sources told the Canadian publication, was instructed not to report anything till Mr Duheme and Ms Gauvin held that press conference. The Post eventually did so citing ‘Canadian officials’ who claimed to have linked Gill’s murder to India, although the federal police did not.

In their presser Mr Duheme and Ms Gauvin claimed to have evidence – none was presented citing ongoing investigation – that some Indian diplomatic staff work with organised crime elements to “collect – through questionable and illegal means – information on Canadian citizens… (that is fed to criminal organisations) that would then take violent actions…”

#WATCH | Ottawa, Ontario (Canada): “It (India) is targeting South Asian community but they are specifically targeting pro-Khalistani elements in Canada…What we have seen is, from an RCMP perspective, they use organised crime elements. It has been publically attributed and… pic.twitter.com/KYKQVSx7Ju

— ANI (@ANI) October 14, 2024

Hours after the police officers’ press conference Mr Trudeau spoke to reporters and doubled down on charges against the Indian government.

READ | Trudeau Doubles Down On Charges Amid India-Canada Diplomatic Row

“I think it is obvious the Government of India made a fundamental error in thinking they could engage in supporting criminal activity against Canadians, here on Canadian soil…” he declared.

India, Canada Expel Diplomats

His government also named High Commissioner Sanjay Verma as one of the six ‘persons of interest’ in this affair, triggering further fury from Delhi, which retaliated by ejecting Canada’s High Commissioner and five of his staff. On the expulsions (the second tit-for-tat round), Delhi said, “Sanjay Verma is India’s senior-most serving diplomat”, and slammed a “strategy of smearing India for political gains”.

Canadian authorities investigating Nijjar’s killing have arrested four people so far, and Mr Duheme said last week that 30 others, including those with alleged links to the Indian government. were charged.

Trudeau’s Political Future

Mr Trudeau’s allegations coincide with sliding support and tanking popularity; this month he survived a second parliamentary confidence vote in as many weeks before the 2025 election.

Ties between Ottawa and Delhi have plummeted since Mr Trudeau’s allegations broke, with his critics in India accusing him of pandering to Khalistani terrorist vote banks in that country.

In May, Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar said that Justin Trudeau, by allowing political space to Khalistani separatist elements, had indicated the terrorists’ votes were more important than the rule of law.

Mr Jaishankar underlined his assessment this week at the NDTV World Summit and criticised the Canadian government for “double standards”, referring to apparent differences between how Ottawa treats other nations’ diplomats on its soil and the “license’ it allows its representatives in India.

US’ Position

The US has been discreet since the row erupted in September last year and has only emphasised the need for cooperation between the two countries, an appeal it made again last week.

READ | NDTV Explains: US Charge Over Plot To Kill Terrorist, India’s Reaction

The United States – which is conducting an inquiry about an ex-Indian spy linked to a murder-for-hire attempt targeting Gurpatwant Pannun, whom India considers a Khalistani terrorist – called for Delhi and Ottawa to work together, and said that charges need to be viewed “very seriously”.

READ | On Nijjar Killing, US Says “Wanted To See India, Canada Cooperate But…”

Nijjar – the mastermind behind banned terror outfit Khalistan Tiger Force – was on Delhi’s list of ‘most wanted’ terrorists for multiple crimes, including the murder of Hindu priest in Punjab. Anti-terror agency NIA had offered a Rs 10 lakh reward for information leading to his capture.

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New Delhi:

The Indian government will “naturally oppose any move giving political space to extremism and advocacy of violence”, the Foreign Ministry said Friday in its weekly press briefing.

The reference was to the Canadian parliament observing a moment of silence in the memory of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was killed outside a gurdwara in Canada’s British Columbia province last year. A video released by news agency IANS showed MPs observing silence after Speaker Greg Fergus said, “… I understand there is an agreement to observe a moment of silence in memory of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, assassinated in Surrey one year ago today.”

Nijjar was wanted in India for being the “mastermind” of the Khalistani Tiger Force, a designated terror group in this country. Last July, anti-terror agency NIA announced a cash reward of Rs 10 lakh for the capture of Nijjar in connection with the murder of a Hindu priest in Punjab’s Jalandhar.

READ | India’s Kanishka Reply To Canada Parliament’s Nijjar Move

Nijjar is also accused in the 2007 bombing of a cinema in Punjab.

On his killing, Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau claimed “agents” of the Indian government were involved in killing Nijjar, a Canadian citizen. Those allegations, repeated frequently since, have led to tense relations between the two nations, including awkward moments between the Canadian leader and Prime Minister Narendra Modi when India held the G20 Summit last year.

India has firmly rubbished Canada’s allegations, calling them “absurd” and “motivated” and noting that Mr Trudeau has yet to provide evidence, of any sort, to back his claim.

“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. Inaction of Canada is a matter of continuing concern,” the Indian side had side.

Nijjar’s murder is being investigated by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and four Indian nationals have been arrested.

On the Canadian parliament’s move to honour the memory of Nijjar, the Indian consulate in Vancouver announced a memorial service – to be held on Sunday – to pay tribute to the 329 victims of the Air India flight bombed by Khalistani terrorists in 1985.

The Air India Flight travelling from Montreal to London had blown up 31,000 feet above the ground when a bomb planted by Canadian Sikh terrorists went off. The 329 passengers killed in the incident included 268 Canadian citizens, 27 British citizens, and 24 Indian citizens. This bombing is among the deadliest acts of aviation terrorism.

On that subject an Indian-origin Canada MP, Chandra Arya, said the ideology responsible for the terrorist attack is still alive among a few people in his country.

READ | Canada MP On Kanishka Bombing, Says “Dark Forces Energised Again”

Speaking in the Canadian Parliament, he said the celebration of ex-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination by “Khalistani supporters” demonstrated that “dark forces have been energised again”.

He also highlighted the concerns of Hindu Canadians regarding recent incidents.

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New York City:

Alleging that the agents of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) were involved in the killing of Khalistani terrorist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in Canada, an independent blogger, Jennifer Zeng, has said that China’s “purpose was to frame India creating discord between India and the West”.

She also alleged that it was a part of the CCP’s sinister “Ignition Plan” to disrupt the world in line with Xi Jinping’s military strategy regarding Taiwan.

Jennifer Zeng is a Chinese born rights activist, journalist who is currently living in the US.

In a video posted on the social media platform, X, Zeng dubbed the killing of Nijjar as an assassination claiming, “Today shocking revelations about the ‘assassination ‘ of Sikh religious leader, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in Canada have emerged from within the CCP. It is alleged that the ‘assassination’ was carried out by CCP agents.”

On 18 June 2023, Hardeep Nijjar, a designated terrorist in India, was shot and killed in the parking lot of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia.

The independent blogger attributed her allegations to Chinese writer and YouTuber Lao Deng, who according to her, lives in Canada now.

“Lao stated that in early June this year as part of their disruption initiative ‘Ignition Plan’, the CCP Ministry of State Security sent a high-ranking official to Seattle, USA. A secret meeting was held there…The objective was to sabotage relations between India and the West,” Zeng claims in the video posted on X.

“The agents were tasked with assassinating Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the Sikh leader in Canada. Following the meeting, the CCP agents meticulously executed the killing plan,” she claimed.

Explaining their modus operandi, the independent blogger alleges, “On June 18th, the agents armed with silenced guns tracked Nijjar. When the deed was done, they destroyed the dash camera in Nijjar’s Car to erase any evidence. After the crime, the agents fled, they burned their weapons and disguises to destroy all traces. The next day they left Canada in Airplanes.”

She also alleged that the killers even purposely learned Indian-accent English. “Therefore, they purposely spoke in India accent English…In fact, these actions were part of the scheme by CCP secret agent to frame India,” said Zeng.

She also claimed that Lao revealed that the CCP’s ‘ignition plan’ was devised this year after the CCP’s two sessions.

There has been no response to Jennifer Zeng’s allegations, posted in the video on Sunday afternonn (US time) from either the Chinese foreign ministry or the Ministry of External Affairs.

The diplomatic ties between India and Canada soured after the Canadian government expelled a senior Indian diplomat accusing India of playing a role in the killing of a Khalistani terrorist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada.

In the aftermath, India swiftly retaliated by issuing a statement that denied any involvement in the issue and expelled a senior Canadian diplomat. India has outrightly rejected the claims, calling it ‘absurd’ and ‘motivated’.

Amid escalating tensions, India has called for parity in the number of Canadian diplomats in India.

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi earlier this month said that Canadian diplomatic presence is much higher in India and they assume “there would be reduction”.

“On discussions on parity, given the much higher presence of diplomats or diplomatic presence here and their interference in our internal matters, we have sought parity in our respective diplomatic presence. Discussions are ongoing to achieve this. Given that Canadian diplomatic presence is higher, we would assume that there would be a reduction,” said MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi.

India is “temporarily unable to process visa applications” from Canada because of “security threats faced by our High Commissions and Consulates” in that country, the government said Thursday afternoon, as hostilities escalate over accusations that “agents of New Delhi” killed a Khalistani terrorist and Canadian national – Hardeep Singh Nijjar – on Canadian soil. 

The Foreign Ministry statement comes hours after BLS International – a private agency hired for initial scrutiny of visa requests – cited “operational reasons” to suspend services till further notice.

“You are aware of the security threats being faced by our High Commissions and Consulates in Canada… this has disrupted their normal functioning. Accordingly, our High Commissions and Consulates are temporarily unable to process visa applications,” Arindam Bagchi, the ministry spokesperson, told reporters. “We will be reviewing the situation on a regular basis.”

The Indian government has also suspended issue of electronic visas, Mr Bagchi added, stressing that the issue is about “discrimination in how visas are granted by the Canadian side”.

READ |Indian Visas For Canadians Suspended Amid Row: “Operational Reasons”

“All categories of visas are suspended. Issue not about travel to India… those who have valid visas (issued before this suspension order) are (cleared) to travel to India. The issue is the creation of an environment that disrupts functioning of our consulates and high commission,” he said.

Mr Bagchi dismissed claims Indian “agents” had killed Nijjar and called them “politically driven”. He pointed out that “no specific information” had been shared by Ottawa on the alleged killing.

READ | “Allegations By Canada Politically Driven”: India Amid Diplomatic Row

“We are willing to look at specific information if provided… from our side, we have very specific information on particular individuals in Canada and all these have been shared with them.”

“But Canada hasn’t acted on them,” he said.

On India expelling a senior diplomat – after Canada ordered a top Research and Analysis Wing official to leave its borders – Mr Bagchi said the other side had been asked to downsize its diplomatic presence in India citing “interference of Canadian diplomats in Indian affairs”.

READ |In Tit-For-Tat Move, India Asks Canada Diplomat To Leave Within 5 Days

“Canadian diplomatic presence in India is larger than what India has (in Canada)… accordingly needs to be downsized. There should be parity, their numbers are much higher,” Mr Bagchi said.

READ | “Interference In Our Affairs”: India Wants Reduction In Canada Diplomats

Apart from each side ejecting one official, India and Canada also traded adverse travel advisories. 

Canada updated its India advisory this week to mirror that of the United States and it explicitly mentions Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast, warning of “violent clashes between militants and security forces in the former” and “ethnic tensions” leading to “conflict and civil unrest”in the latter.

READ | Canada Rejects India’s Travel Advisory Amid Escalating Diplomatic Row

And, on Wednesday, shortly after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met PM Modi in the new Parliament building, India advised its citizens in Canada, and those contemplating travelling, to exercise “utmost caution” in view of anti-India activities and “politically-condoned” hate crimes.

Nijjar, 45, was shot dead outside a gurdwara in Canada’s British Columbia in June. Hailing from Punjab’s Jalandhar, he was chief of the banned Khalistan Tiger Force and one of India’s most wanted terrorists. There was a Rs 10 lakh reward for his capture or information leading to his arrest.

India-Canada ties were already tense after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s conversation with Canada’s Justin Trudeau at the G20 Summit in Delhi this month. The PM expressed India’s “strong concerns about continuing anti-India activities” in that country.