India Canada News LIVE Updates: Amid Bitter Row, Nijjar's Uncle Says 'Trudeau Needn't Have Taken Risk'

Protests across Canada have been called by Khalistan supporters asking for action to be taken against those responsible for the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. The protest groups though not big in numbers attempt to amlify their message to India with the help of the social media attention that they have garnered due to the stir in dipolmatic ties between India and Canada.

The Canadian government, led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, does not have intelligence inputs on the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a top Indian government source told CNN-News18 amid the India-Canada diplomatic crisis. READ MORE

The Ferozepur police has raided the hideout of gangster Lakhbir Landa’s aids. The raids are being conducted at 58 places simultaneously. This comes after the NIA revealed a larger gang nexus behind what is being planned in Canadian soil.

Baloch Human Rights Council of Canada wrote to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Sunday, asking why no action was taken against Pakistan on Karima Baloch’s murder when Canada acted so promptly when it came to Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s killing.

“Prime Minister Mr. Justin Trudeau’s conspicuous silence regarding the high-profile, unexplained death of Karima Baloch—a prominent Balochistan human rights defender—stands in stark contrast to his impassioned speeches in the House of Commons and extensive international media coverage concerning the shooting death of Mr. Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada. This discrepancy raises concerns about the Canadian Government’s consistency and fairness, particularly with regard to its handling of Balochistan’s ongoing human rights violations by the Pakistan Army,” said Dr. Zaffar Jawaid, President, BHRCC.

A Balochistan rights activist, Karima Baloch was fighting for the rights of the Balochistan people with the Pakistan government.

She was the first chair of the Baloch Students Organization (BSO-Azad), a political students’ body, and was known for raising the cause of forced disappearances among Baloch activists.

A vocal critic of the Pakistani military and Inter-Services Intelligence, Baloch was granted asylum in Canada after being slapped with terrorism charges in Pakistan.

In 2020, after going missing, Baloch was found dead in a river in Sweden, becoming the second Baloch activist to have died in exile that year. READ HERE

Days after National Investigation Agency (NIA) confiscated properties of Canada-based ‘designated individual terrorist’ Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, it is learnt that the government has asked the investigative agencies to identify the properties of other terrorists wanted in India sitting abroad.

Sources privy to the matter said that the government has asked the agencies to identify the properties of the terrorists settled abroad.

The source also said that the government has asked the agencies to identify Khalistani terrorists settled in countries like the US, UK, Canada and Australia and cancel their Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) so that they don’t come to India.

Slain Khalistani leader Nijjar’s uncle, Himmat Singh Nijjar, 79, expressed his worry over deteriorating diplomatic relations with Canada and declining economic prospects in Punjab.

“For the sake of one ordinary person, he (Justin Trudeau) did not need to take such a huge risk,” the uncle was quoted as saying.

No evidence has reportedly been shared with India by Canada on Indian agents’ possible involvement in Nijjar’s murder. Quoting top Indian security officials, a report by Hindustan Times said neither Ottawa nor Washington DC shared any intelligence on the KTF Chief’s killing with New Delhi in the run-up to the G-20 summit in Delhi.

“Credible allegation is an oxymoron,” said one of the officials, referencing Trudeau’s statement when he first mentioned the issue last week. And since then too no evidence has been shared, the officials added.

Of the approximately 250 gurdwaras in Canada, eight are controlled by Khalistani groups, a source from an Indian intelligence agency told News18.

Sources said the groups are active in Surrey, British Columbia, Brampton and Abbotsford and in some areas in Toronto. “Going by their strength, there must be approximately 10,000 Sikhs supporting Khalistani ideology. Of these, 5,000 are hardcore. The rest are only sympathetic and support them under peer pressure,” the above mentioned source told News18.

Canada has two types of gurdwaras — private and non-profit. Private gurdwaras are owned by people, whereas non-profit are the large ones where elections are held to take control of the administration. READ MORE

Canadian Defence Minister Bill Blair on Sunday called Canada’s relationship with India “important” and said his country will continue to pursue partnerships like the Indo-Pacific strategy while the investigation of the killing of Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar continues.

In an interview aired on Sunday on The West Block, Blair suggested Canada will continue to pursue those partnerships while the investigation into allegations continues. READ MORE

Amid India-Canada tensions over Nijjar remaining intact, gangster Sukhdool Singh, who had fled to Canada from Punjab in 2017, was shot dead by unknown men in Canada’s Winnipeg last week. According to sources in Punjab Police, Singh had joined pro-Khalistan forces.

Sukhdool Singh alias Sukha Duneke, gangster of Davinder Bambiha gang, was from Punjab’s Moga. As Intelligence input suggested Duneke was killed in Canada’s Winnipeg in an inter-gang rivalry, hours after reports of his killing surfaced, Lawrence Bishnoi gang claimed responsibility for the same.

In a social media post, the Lawrence Bishnoi gang said Duneke played a major role in the killings of gangsters Gurlal Brar and Vicky Middkhera, adding that the murders were planned by Duneke even when he was staying abroad. READ HERE

The strain in ties between India and Canada showed up over the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Khalistani terrorist who was shot dead in June in Canadian city of Surrey in British Columbia province.

Last week, Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau claimed there were “credible allegations of a potential link” between agents of the Indian government and the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

This was followed by multiple diplomatic devedlopments, including expulsion of a senior Indian diplomat by Canada and then a tit-for-tat move by India of removing a senior Canadian diplomat.

Later, both India and Canada issued travel advisories for its citizens in both the countries.