New Delhi: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has yet again reacted to the ongoing diplomatic standoff between the two countries by accusing India of “arbitrarily” kicking out 41 diplomats and violating international law.
“…that is why we were so disappointed when India violated the Vienna Convention and arbitrarily revoked the diplomatic immunity of over 40 Canadian diplomats in India,” Global News quoted Trudeau as having said Friday.
The leader of the Liberal Party of Canada also said that Ottawa had serious grounds to suspect that Indian agents had a role in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a designated terrorist in India, who was shot dead in Surrey, British Columbia, on 18 June.
“Think about it from our perspective. We have serious reasons to believe that agents of the Government of India could have been involved in the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil, and India’s response was to kick out a whole bunch of Indian diplomats by violating their rights under the Vienna convention,” Trudeau said.
His comments come against the backdrop of New Delhi communicating its concerns, over the growing Sikh separatist sentiment in Canada, to Washington during the India-US 2+2 ministerial dialogue held Friday.
“The thrust of our conversation with our partners, no different than today…is essentially that we have core security concerns. I am sure you all are aware of the recent video that has surfaced from one such individual — Gurpatwant Singh Pannun — which presents a very serious security concern for the Indian interest,” Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said during a press briefing Friday.
On 18 September, Trudeau had claimed in the Canadian House of Commons that his government was investigating “credible allegations” of a “potential link” between the agents of the Government of India and the killing of Nijjar.
New Delhi, at the time, dismissed Ottawa’s allegations as “absurd and motivated”.
But the diplomatic row that followed escalated in no time as both countries expelled each other’s diplomats. On 19 October, Canada pulled out 41 diplomats and their families from New Delhi after India demanded ‘parity’ in diplomatic rank and strength.
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‘Not a fight we want right now’
Trudeau also said Friday that this issue between India and Canada “is not a fight we want to be having right now”, but he added that Ottawa will “unequivocally always stand up for the rule of law”.
“When we learned of credible allegations that agents of the Indian government were involved in the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil, we reached out to India to ask them to work with us in getting to the bottom of this matter,” he added.
The Canadian PM was careful to use the word “allegation” and not “evidence” throughout his statements.
The concern was earlier highlighted by the High Commissioner of India to Canada Sanjay Kumar Verma, who challenged Ottawa to “show evidence” to support the allegations in an interview with The Globe and Mail on 4 November.
“There is no specific or relevant information provided in this case for us to assist them in the investigation,” Verma said.
“Where is the evidence? Where is the conclusion of the investigation? I would go a step further and say now the investigation has already been tainted. A direction has come from someone at a high level to say India or Indian agents are behind it,” he added.
Verma also denied any link between India and the killing of Nijjar, pointing out that any conversations between diplomats are protected under international law and cannot be used as evidence in the courts.
India also suspended the services of its embassy due to the security threats faced by its diplomats in Canada. Verma told The Globe and Mail that he was worried about his safety and security and that of his consul generals. “God forbid if something happens,” he added.
(Edited by Richa Mishra)
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