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A senior Canadian government source on Tuesday told the Reuters news agency that Ottawa and Washington had collaborated “very closely” to investigate a potential link between Indian intelligence agents and the killing of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Vancouver earlier this year.
“We’ve been working with the U.S. very closely, including on the public disclosure yesterday,” the source told Reuters on condition of anonymity. They further said that the evidence in possession of Canada would be made public “in due course.”
U.S. National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson, in a press briefing, said the United States was “deeply concerned about the allegations referenced” by Prime Minister Trudeau. “We remain in regular contact with our Canadian partners. It is critical that Canada’s investigation proceed and the perpetrators be brought to justice,” she added.
A day earlier, Canadian P.M. Justin Trudeau issued an emergency statement in the House of Commons alleging “credible intelligence” that Indian intelligence agents may have been involved in the murder of Nijjar. Urging the Indian government to take the situation seriously, he also encouraged them to support a thorough investigation into the incident. Subsequently, Canada expelled a senior Indian diplomat it claimed was its intelligence chief in the country.
India, in a statement, rejected Trudeau’s claims and, in a tit-for-tat move, announced it was expelling a Canadian diplomat.
Meanwhile, most states, including those allied with India, have adopted a measured response to Canada’s allegations. British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly on Tuesday said his government supported Canada’s probe to determine whether India was actually involved in Nijjar’s killing. Similarly, a spokesperson for Australia’s foreign minister said Canberra was “deeply concerned by these allegations and notes ongoing investigations into this matter.” They said Australia had conveyed its concerns “at senior levels to India.”