During the recent G20 summit, leaders, including United States President Joe Biden, expressed their concerns to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding Canada’s allegations that New Delhi was involved in the killing of a Sikh separatist leader, as reported by the Financial Times (FT).
The FT, citing three individuals familiar with discussions at the G20, revealed that several members of the intelligence-sharing network known as the Five Eyes, which includes Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States, directly raised the issue of the Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s killing with Modi.
These concerns were voiced after Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called on allies to engage with Modi regarding the matter.
While the White House had not yet responded to the FT’s report at the time, a spokesperson expressed deep concern on Thursday over the allegations.
India has vehemently denied Canada’s claims of official involvement in Nijjar’s murder, labeling the accusations as “absurd.”
India’s foreign ministry has contended that Canada has not shared any specific information regarding Nijjar’s killing.
Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen who had previously been designated a “terrorist” by Indian authorities in July 2020, was assassinated outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, British Columbia, in June.
Nijjar had been an outspoken advocate for an independent Khalistani state, representing a Sikh homeland in India.
At the time of his death, Nijjar was working to organize an unofficial Sikh diaspora referendum on independence from India.
According to an unnamed source familiar with the matter cited by the Associated Press, the allegations of India’s involvement in Nijjar’s killing were based on human and surveillance intelligence, including signals intelligence related to Indian diplomats in Canada.
The source did not specify which member of the Five Eyes alliance provided the intelligence regarding the Indian diplomats, nor did they disclose the specific details contained in the intelligence.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) was the first to report these intelligence details, adding that no Indian official had denied the allegations when questioned behind closed doors.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs had not issued an immediate response to the CBC report.
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