Canada concerned over measures taken by India

Toronto: Canada's Defence Minister Bill Blair has voiced concern over the measures taken by India including the suspension of visa services for Canadians and urged New Delhi to cooperate fully in the investigation of the killing of a Sikh separatist leader to uncover the truth and work together to resolve it in an appropriate way.

Tensions flared between India and Canada following Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's explosive allegations of "potential" involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, 45, on his country's soil on June 18 in British Columbia.

India had designated Nijjar as a terrorist in 2020. India has angrily rejected the allegations as "absurd" and "motivated" and expelled a senior Canadian diplomat in a tit-for-tat move to Ottawa's expulsion of an Indian official over the case.

India last week asked Canada to crack down on terrorists and anti-India elements operating from its soil and suspended visa services for Canadians.

"We received and believe we have very credible intelligence that causes us to be deeply concerned and the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) have now initiated an investigation," Blair said in an interview with Canada's national public broadcaster CBC News on Sunday.

"One of the things I need to be very careful about is not confirming or identifying either the sources of any information we're acting on or the evidence or the type of evidence that forms part of that investigation, because the outcome of that investigation is critically important to Canada. It's also important to our allies in the world...," he said, without divulging details of the ongoing investigation into the case.

When asked whether he was concerned about some of the measures adopted by India, Blair said, "I am concerned about the measures that they're taking because we have a very significant (and) important Indo-Canadian population in this country, people who are connected to family and through business and other relationships to India."

He said that Canada recognises the impact that some of these measures may have and at the same time it's another reason why he placed such emphasis on the investigation that's taking place that they are able to move beyond credible intelligence to evidence, strong evidence of exactly what happened.

"So that we and the Indian government can know the truth and have the facts and then we can work together to resolve it in an appropriate way. And the only request we have made of our allies in India is that they cooperate fully in that investigation because its outcome is very important," the minister said. (PTI)