October 17, 2024 - The on-going diplomatic row between India and Canada intensifies after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has admitted to not having hard evidence of India’s involvement in Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s killing last year. Reacting to this sharply, the Ministry of External Affairs in a statement last night, October 16, said it only “confirms” India’s insistence all along about lack of evidence by Canada.

The MEA said in a statement, “What we have heard today only confirms what we have been saying consistently all along - Canada has presented us (India) no evidence whatsoever in support of the serious allegations that it has chosen to level against India and Indian diplomats… the responsibility for the damage that this cavalier behaviour has caused to India-Canada relations lies with Prime Minister Trudeau alone."

Trudeau yesterday, October 16, testified before his country’s foreign interference inquiry saying he had no “hard evidentiary proof” but had relied on intelligence report of Indian government’s involvement in the killing. He had also alleged that Indian diplomats were gathering information on Canadians who are in disagreement with the Modi government and passing it on to levels within the government and criminal organisations.

Nijjar, was shot and killed in Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18 last year. He had been a vocal supporter of the Khalistan movement, which demands a separate Sikh homeland, and publicly campaigned for it.

According to Trudeau, he was briefed on the murder later that summer and received intelligence that made it "incredibly clear" about India’s involvement in the shooting. And that agents of the Indian government were involved in the killing of a Canadian on Canadian soil, he said.

However, at the time Canada's intelligence did not amount to hard evidence or proof, Trudeau told the inquiry commission yesterday.

Trudeau’s statement has come amid souring India-Canada diplomatic ties with tensions escalating further.

Source: Media Reports