Indian diplomats in Canada were surveilled for intelligence, leading to allegations made by Justin Trudeau about India’s involvement in the killing of a Sikh terrorist, a Canadian official familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Thursday.
The communications involved Indian officials and diplomats in Canada and some of the intelligence was provided by a member of the “Five Eyes” intelligence-sharing alliance, which includes the US, Britain, Australia and New Zealand, in addition to Canada.
This shocking revelation comes as India-Canada ties have plunged following the Canadian Prime Minister’s claims of the Indian government’s role in the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey on June 18. Days after outrightly rejecting the claims as “absurd” and “motivated”, India has stopped processing visa applications and asked Canada to downsize its diplomatic staff in the country, arguing that there should be parity in strength and rank equivalence in the mutual diplomatic presence.
New Delhi also asked Canada to clamp anti-India elements operating from its soil and suspended visa services for Canadians, as escalating tensions between the two nations over the killing of Nijjar pushed their ties to an all-time low.
Speaking on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on Thursday, Trudeau said Canada is not looking to “provoke or cause problems” with India and he urged New Delhi to work with Ottawa to “uncover the truth”. “We call upon the government of India to take seriously this matter and to work with us to shed full transparency and ensure accountability and justice in this matter,” Trudeau said while responding to questions on the diplomatic row between India and Canada.
India-Canada Row: Trudeau Says Not Looking to ‘Cause Problems’; Urges New Delhi to Uncover Truth
“We are a country of the rule of law. We are going to continue to do the work necessary to keep Canadians safe and to uphold our values and the international rules-based order. That’s our focus right now,” added Trudeau. When asked whether his government will take any retaliatory measures following India’s suspension of visa services for Canadians, Trudeau said that his government was not looking to provoke or cause problems.
A top White House official said it supports Canada’s efforts to probe allegations of India’s involvement in the killing of Nijjar. “As soon as we heard from the Canadian Prime Minister publicly about the allegations, we went out publicly ourselves and expressed our deep concern about them, our support for a law enforcement process to get to the bottom of exactly what happened, and to ensure that the perpetrators are held accountable,” National Security Advisor (NSA) Jake Sullivan said during a White House news conference.
“I’m not going to get into the substance of private diplomatic conversations, but we are in constant contact with our Canadian counterparts. We are consulting with them closely. We support the efforts that they are undertaking in this investigation and we have also been in touch with the Indian government as well,” he said.