() – Intelligence obtained by the Five Eyes network has led Canada to publicly allege that the Indian government may have played a role in the killing of a Sikh separatist activist on Canadian soil, the US ambassador to Canada said on Sunday.
“I am confirming that there was intelligence shared between the Five Eyes partners that helped lead Canada to make the statements that the prime minister made,” U.S. Ambassador to Canada David Cohen told CTV’s Question Time with Vassy Kapelos in an interview Sunday.
Five Eyes is an intelligence-sharing pact between the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, although the ambassador would not confirm whether that shared intelligence came from the United States. “I wouldn’t do it. I wouldn’t do it under any circumstances,” Cohen said.
Relations between India and Canada plummeted last week after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said authorities had been investigating “credible allegations” that New Delhi was potentially behind the June killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh separatist activist, who was shot dead by two masked men in Surrey, British Columbia.
India has vehemently denied the claims, calling them “absurd and motivated.” Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi said Canada has not provided “any specific information” to back up the allegations.
Both countries expelled senior diplomats in reciprocal moves, raising the prospect of an uneasy rift between key U.S. partners.
The dispute escalated further last week when India suspended visa services for Canadian citizens over what it said were “security threats” against diplomats in Canada.
Canada and India are at odds over the murder of a Sikh leader
Speaking to CTV, Cohen said the United States had expressed concern to India over the allegations and asked New Delhi to cooperate with Canada in its investigation.
“If they turn out to be true, it is potentially a very serious violation of the rules-based international order,” the ambassador said.
On Sunday, Canadian Defence Minister Bill Blair sought to shift the focus from questions about his country’s intelligence to the criminal investigation into Nijjar’s murder.
In an interview with CBC, Blair said the Five Eyes partnership is “critically important” and that Canada has “very credible intelligence that we are deeply concerned about,” but he declined to identify the sources of that information.
“That’s another reason why I put so much emphasis on the investigation that’s going on, that we could go beyond credible intelligence to evidence, hard evidence, of exactly what happened, so that we and the Indian government can really know the situation, have the facts and then work together to resolve it appropriately,” he said.
Trudeau on Thursday urged India to “get rid of complete transparency and ensure accountability and justice in this way.”
“We call on the Government of India to work with us, to take these allegations seriously and to allow justice to take its course,” the Prime Minister said at the Canadian Mission to the United Nations.
Trudeau said Canada is not seeking to provoke or cause trouble, but said its justice system “and robust processes will take their course” with regard to the investigation into the allegation.
In a strongly worded statement to reporters on Thursday, Bagchi called Canada a “safe haven for terrorists” and that Canada needed to “worry about its international reputation” in the wake of her explosive allegations.
Bagchi said the suspension of visa services for Canadian citizens was due to “incitement to violence” and “inaction” by Canadian authorities.
“Creating an environment that disrupts the functioning of our high commission and consulates, that is what makes us temporarily stop issuing visas or providing visa services,” Bagchi said.
Indian minister says Canada is a ‘safe haven for terrorists and organized crime’
The Indian government has long accused Canada of inaction in tackling what it says is Sikh separatist extremism aimed at creating a separate Sikh homeland that would be known as Khalistan and include parts of the Indian state of Punjab.
Nijjar was a strong supporter of the creation of Khalistan. India considers calls for Khalistan to be a serious threat to national security.
Several groups associated with the idea of Khalistan are listed as “terrorist organisations” under India’s Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Nijjar’s name appears on the UAPA terror list and in 2020 India’s National Investigation Agency accused him of “trying to radicalise the Sikh community across the world in favour of the creation of ‘Khalistan’”.
Several Sikh organisations abroad say the Indian government is falsely equating the movement with terrorism, and say they will continue to peacefully advocate for the creation of Khalistan while shedding light on what they say are years of human rights abuses facing the community in India.
According to local police, Nijjar was shot dead in his pickup truck in June by two masked gunmen outside a Sikh temple in western Canada.
His death shocked and outraged Canada’s Sikh community, one of the largest outside India and home to more than 770,000 members of the religious minority.
Canadian police have not arrested anyone in connection with Nijjar’s murder. But in an August update, they issued a statement saying they were investigating three suspects and issued a description of a possible getaway vehicle, asking for the public’s help.
– ’s Manveena Suri contributed reporting.
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