US Sides With Canada Against India on Nijjar Case Allegations

The US State Department has urged the Indian government to cooperate with Canada in its ongoing investigations linking "agents" of the Indian government with alleged plots to "target" pro-Khalistan extremists.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller accused the Indian government of "not cooperating" with the Canadian investigation into the killing of pro-Khalistan leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, designated as an individual terrorist under India's Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). Nijjar was shot dead by unidentified men at a Sikh community centre in Surrey, British Columbia, last June. Diplomatic tensions between the two countries have been soaring since Trudeau claimed in Canadian Parliament last September that the killing could be linked to Indian "agents".

"When it comes to the Canadian matter, we have made clear that the allegations are extremely serious – serious, and they need to be taken seriously, and we wanted to see the Government of India cooperate with Canada in its investigation. Obviously, they have not chosen that path," Miller told a briefing in Washington on Tuesday.

The India-Canada diplomatic row peaked this week as New Delhi withdrew its High Commissioner to Ottawa over security concerns and expelled six Canadian diplomats. The development came as Ottawa asked New Delhi to waive the diplomatic immunity of Indian diplomats and indicated that they were "persons of interest" in a Canadian probe.

Trudeau, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Commissioner Mike Duheme held separate press conferences in Ottawa the same day, wherein they claimed that they had "evidence” about Indian government agents being connected to activities that threaten "public safety" in Canada. In another presser in New Delhi, Canada's Acting High Commissioner to India Stewart Wheeler claimed that he had shared evidence on these allegations with New Delhi.

Canada hasn't shared any specific evidence with India, despite repeatedly making these allegations the past months months. Sources told Sputnik on Tuesday said that Canada has been making "vague accusations" and putting the "burden of denial" on India.

Incidentally, on the same day as Canada levelled its allegations against New Delhi, the US State Department announced that an Indian Enquiry Committee would be travelling to Washington on Tuesday as part of an ongoing probe to investigate an alleged foiled plot against US-based pro-Khalistan terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the counsel of New York-based banned organisation Sikhs for Justice (SFJ). In November, the US Department of Justice claimed in an indictment that an Indian national, Nikhil Gupta, was directed by Indian agents to target Pannun. New Delhi has announced a high-level committee to probe the US claims.

Miller, however, denied any connection between the similar timings of the two statements. "I’d say that the timing of those was completely coincidental," the US State Department spokesperson claimed.

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