The three countries expressed concern over ‘serious allegations’ that India was involved in the killing of Canada’s Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
The United Kingdom says it is working closely with its Canadian counterparts over “serious allegations” from Ottawa that the Indian government was involved in the killing of a Sikh separatist leader in British Columbia province earlier this year. .
Australia is also “deeply concerned” by the allegations, a spokeswoman for the country’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Tuesday.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday said it was “actively pursuing credible allegations” linking Indian government agents to the killing of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia.
Nijjar, 45, was shot dead outside a Sikh temple on June 18 in Surrey, a Vancouver suburb with a large Sikh population. He supports a Sikh homeland in the form of an independent Khalistani state and was designated by India as a “terrorist” in July 2020.
“We are in close contact with our Canadian partners about the serious allegations,” a British government spokesman said. “It is not appropriate to comment further on the ongoing investigation by Canadian authorities.”
In April, India asked Britain for more monitoring of UK-based supporters of a Sikh separatist movement.
New Delhi was angered after protesters carrying “Khalistan” removed the Indian flag from the diplomatic mission building in London.
Australian foreign minister spokesman Wong said Australia was “deeply concerned by these allegations and noted the ongoing investigation into this matter”.
“We are in close contact with partners on the developments. We have expressed our concerns at senior levels in India,” the Australian official said.
Trudeau said in an emergency statement to the House of Commons that any involvement of a foreign government in the killing of a Canadian citizen is an “unacceptable violation of our sovereignty”.
“We are deeply concerned about the allegations leveled against Prime Minister Trudeau earlier today,” US National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said in a statement released late Monday.
Trudeau did not directly accuse India of involvement in the killing. The Canadian foreign minister later used more cautious language, saying that “if proven true” the allegations would not be accepted.
British Columbia’s Integrated Homicide Investigation Team said last month there were three suspects, although no arrests have been made.
India dismissed the accusation as “unjustified and motivated” and urged Canada to take legal action against anti-Indian elements operating from its soil.
Meanwhile, Canada expelled India’s top intelligence agent from the country, while New Delhi, in a tit-for-tat move, expelled a senior Canadian diplomat.
Increase in tension
Trudeau’s comments marked a significant rise in tensions between Canada and the world’s largest democracy, with New Delhi unhappy about Canada’s Sikh separatist movement.
Modi expressed his strong concerns with Trudeau at the Group of 20 (G20) summit over recent demonstrations in Canada by Sikhs calling for an independent state.
Diplomatic strains are now threatening trade relations, with talks on a proposed trade deal now frozen. Canada gave few details for the impasse while India mentioned “certain political developments”.
Bilateral trade in 2022 will only amount to 13.7 billion Canadian dollars ($10.2bn) out of a total of 1.52 trillion Canadian dollars ($11.3 trillion), according to Statistics Canada.
Canada has the highest population of Sikhs outside of their Indian state of Punjab, and the country has been the site of several demonstrations that have angered India.
Canada is also home to one of the largest overseas communities of Indian origin, numbering 1.4 million out of Canada’s total population of 40 million. About 770,000 people reported Sikhism as their religion in the 2021 census.
Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc said several senior Canadian government officials visited India recently to express concerns to Ottawa.
