Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday reiterated his allegations that Government of India agents are involved in the killing of Khalistan terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar and sought cooperation from New Delhi on the probe in the matter.
His remarks came after India rejected his allegations and termed them as “absurd” and “politically driven”.
“As I said on Monday, there are credible reasons to believe that agents of the Government of India were involved in the killing of Canadian on Canadian soil which is something of utmost and foundational importance in a country of rule of law in the world where international rule-based order matters,” the PM said.
#WATCH | Canadian PM Justin Trudeau says, “I call upon the Govt of India to work with us, to take seriously these allegations and to allow justice to follow its course.”(Source: Reuters) pic.twitter.com/lVhnLQNSwG
— ANI (@ANI) September 21, 2023
“We have a rigorous and independent justice system and robust processes that will follow their course… As a country of the rule of law, we have an obligation to ensure that those processes unfold in a rigorous and independent manner… That is what we are ensuring… At the same time, we are ensuring that Canadians stay protected and that we stand up for international rules-based order that is something we are doing and that is something we are doing alongside our allies,” he added.
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The PM further said there are credible allegations that Canada needs to take extremely seriously as Canadians and indeed as a world.
“It is extremely important that as a country with a strong and independent justice system, we allow those justice processes to unfold themselves with utmost integrity but I can assure you the decision to share these allegations before the House of Commons Monday morning was not done lightly it was done with the utmost seriousness,” he said.
#WATCH | On sharing evidence, Canadian PM Justin Trudeau says, “Canada has a rigorous and independent justice system, that we trust, to follow through the processes, we will ensure that those processes are strictly, abided by and respected. In terms of safety in Canada and the… pic.twitter.com/rUu1GGimx7— ANI (@ANI) September 21, 2023
Trudeau said he had a “direct and frank conversation” with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in which he shared his concerns regarding the matter.
“As I said I had a direct and Frank conversation with the prime minister in which I shared my concerns in no uncertain terms. We call upon the Government of India to take seriously this matter and to work with us to share full transparency and ensure accountability and justice in this matter. We are a country of the rule of law we are going to continue to work necessary to keep Canadians safe and to upload our values and international rules-based order that are focus right now,” he said.
India has expelled a senior Canadian diplomat in a tit-for-tat move to Ottawa’s expulsion of an Indian official over the case.
(With inputs from ANI)