India denies Canadian report claiming PM Modi knew about plan to kill separatist in Khalistan

Amid tense diplomatic relations, India on Wednesday dismissed A report in Canada claiming that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was aware of the alleged plot to kill Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

External Affairs Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said the news was part of a “smear campaign”.

Nijjar was killed by masked gunmen near Vancouver, Canada, in June 2023. Nijjar was a supporter of Khalistan, a separate homeland for Sikhs sought by some groups. He was the head of the Khalistan Tiger Force, which is designated as a terrorist organization in India.

In September 2023, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told his country’s parliament that intelligence agencies were actively monitoring:credible claims” He links agents of the Indian government to Nijjar’s murder.

on wednesday, Globe and Mail It quoted an unidentified national security official in Canada as saying security agencies in the North American country believed Modi “was aware of the murder of a Sikh separatist leader in British Columbia (referring to Nijjar) and other violent plots.”

Speaking to a Canadian newspaper, an unidentified official said that intelligence agencies in Canada and the US attributed the assassination operations to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, adding that National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar were also involved.

“We do not normally comment on media reports,” Jaiswal said in response to Wednesday’s report.

“However, such ludicrous statements, made allegedly by a Canadian government source to a newspaper, should be dismissed with the contempt they deserve,” he added. “Smear campaigns like this only further damage our already strained relations.”

Diplomatic relations between India and Canada have been strained for more than a year following Trudeau’s allegations regarding Nijjar’s murder in September 2023.

At the time, New Delhi denied Canada’s claims, saying: “ridiculous and motivated” and said these were an attempt to divert attention from the fact that Ottawa was providing shelter to those who threatened India’s sovereignty.

On October 14, the Indian government said: retreat High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma and some other diplomats from the North American country. He also announced that he had it. Expelled six Canadian diplomats. Ottawa also said this six people were expelled Indian diplomats, but not Delhi personnel withdrawn Before the Canadian decision.

This came as New Delhi rejected Diplomatic cable from Canada naming Verma and other Indian envoys as “persons of interest” in an investigation in the country.

Although it was unclear which investigation Ottawa was referring to, reports said it was related. of Nijjar Murder in Canada.

On October 16, Trudeau said: intelligence but when the Indian government first made public allegations that its agents may have been involved in Nijjar, there was no “conclusive evidence”.

Canadian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs on 29 October David Morrison claimed Shah He was behind a series of plots to kill or intimidate Khalistan separatists in Canada.

This was the first record of a Canadian official alleging India’s home minister’s involvement in the alleged campaign targeting Khalistan separatists abroad.

The Foreign Office described Morrison’s allegations as follows:absurd and baseless”.