On 19th September (local time), Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau did a minor flip-flop on his anti-India stand in the matter of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s murder on Canadian soil and claimed Canada was not looking to ‘provoke or escalate’ the issue against the government of India.
#WATCH | Ottawa: Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau says, "The government of India needs to take this matter with the utmost seriousness. We are doing that, we are not looking to provoke or escalate, we are simply laying out the facts as we understand them and we want to… pic.twitter.com/NyJbdxVJm6
— ANI (@ANI) September 19, 2023
Speaking to Reuters, he said, “The government of India needs to take this matter with the utmost seriousness. We are doing that, we are not looking to provoke or escalate, we are simply laying out the facts as we understand them, and we want to work with the government of India. It is extremely serious, and it has far-reaching consequences in international law… We’re going to remain calm. We are going to remain grounded in our democratic principles and values. We are going to follow the evidence and make sure the work is done to a whole people.”
His statement came hours after reports surfaced that the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia had earlier refused to issue a joint statement against India. Hours before his statement, US media reports revealed that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau failed to garner any support from Western allies, especially his Five Eyes partners, to join his side in levelling absurd allegations against India. According to a report in the Washington Post, Canada’s Western allies have repeatedly refused to be drawn into or be a part of Trudeau’s “foreign interference” narrative.
The report revealed that Trudeau had been pursuing this baseless anti-India allegation for weeks. Apparently, behind the scenes, he had made several requests with allied nations before airing his mischievous accusation against India. According to the Western official, Trudeau also requested Western allies to come on the same page and issue a joint statement condemning the killing of Khalistani terrorist Nijjar as a contravention of international norms.
The Washington Post report said, “In recent months, Canada began pushing its closest allies, the members of the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network…to raise Nijjar’s killing with India at the highest levels of government and issue a joint statement condemning the act as contravening international norms, said a Western official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of diplomatic sensitivities.” However, all the Western allies of Canada, including the United States, declined his request and shrugged it off. After trying in vain to rally the West against India and in the backdrop of his disastrous India visit, Trudeau levelled the allegations alone in Parliament on 18th September.
Misleading reports of updated travel advisory by Canada while traveling to India
Interestingly, while Trudeau claimed Canada is not looking to “provoke or escalate” the GoI, media reports suggested a new travel advisory has been issued urging Canadians to exercise high caution while traveling to India. However, when OpIndia checked the old advisories issued by Canada regarding traveling to India (here and here), the text was mostly the same, with minor changes. No specific change in the advisory could have been linked to the recent diplomatic tussle between Canada and India.
Justin Trudeau pandered to Khalistani terrorists as he blames India for killing Nijjar, expelled diplomat
On 18th September, in a bizarre move, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau blamed India for killing Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada. In a statement, India categorically rejected the claims and urged the Canadian government to take strict action against anti-India elements on its soil. Furthermore, Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said as a consequence of the allegations, the Canadian government expelled a top Indian diplomat. Interestingly, PM Trudeau accused India in the Canadian parliament of killing Nijjar without providing any proof.
Khalistani terrorists being granted a safe harbour in Canada and operating their anti-India activities under the protection of the Canadian government has been a constant thorn in India-Canada relations for decades. Even the terrorist Talwinder Parmar was allowed to operate on Canadian soil in the 1980s despite an extradition request from the Indian government and existing evidence of him planning a bomb blast.
A number of secessionist Khalistani terrorists continue to live, operate, and threaten India, including Indian diplomats in Canada. Despite multiple requests from the Indian governments over the years, the Canadian government continues to support them and allows them to carry on their anti-India activities from Canadian soil.
