OTTAWA—Canada’s allies in the “Five Eyes” intelligence network are backing up the Trudeau government in voicing deep concern about allegations Indian diplomats are behind a campaign of violence, intimidation and even murder inside Canada.
British and American government officials called on India to co-operate with the ongoing Canadian criminal investigation into allegations of a co-ordinated intimidation and homicide campaign, with the U.S. State Department calling the allegations “extremely serious.”
New Zealand and Australia stopped short of urging India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi to comply with Canada’s request for investigative help, but expressed confidence in Canada’s criminal and judicial processes.
In a statement Wednesday by the British Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, a spokesperson addressed “serious developments outlined in the independent investigations in Canada.”
“The U.K. has full confidence in Canada’s judicial system. Respect for sovereignty and the rule of law is essential. The government of India’s co-operation with Canada’s legal process is the right next step,” it read.
In Washington, state department spokesman Matthew Miller said Tuesday the U.S. believes the allegations “need to be taken seriously, and we wanted to see the government of India co-operate with Canada in its investigation. Obviously, they have not chosen that path.”
Miller said it was a coincidence that Indian officials that are part of its own review of similar American allegations in an indictment — that Indian agents were behind an assassination plot of a Sikh-American in New York City — were in Washington this week.
That American indictment referenced discussions by the murder-for-hire suspect about the killing of Canadian Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia in June 2023, and said there were three more “jobs” that needed to be carried out in Canada that month.
Canada formally asked India to be “scoped into” the Indian government review of the American case, two sources told the Star, but with the collapse of all talks over the weekend in Singapore, it appears the request fell on deaf ears.
Miller said this week’s meeting in Washington was “a followup on conversations we have been having with the government of India at the senior-most levels over the past several months.”
“They have told us that they are taking the allegations seriously, that the activities contained in the DOJ (Department of Justice) indictment do not represent government policy. So the meeting that happened this week or that is happening today by India’s inquiry was to discuss their active investigation into the matter, for us to update them on our active investigation into the matter, and to continue to share sides about steps that could happen in the days and weeks to come.”
India’s response to Washington’s concerns stands in sharp contrast to the way the Modi government has responded to Canada’s concerns and demand for investigative help.
India has refused to co-operate, claiming that Ottawa has not shared “a shred of evidence.”
Yet, as the Star reported Monday, a senior RCMP deputy commissioner, Mark Flynn, Canada’s national security adviser Nathalie Drouin, and deputy foreign affairs minister David Morrison spent five hours in Singapore Saturday outlining Canada’s case and evidence to Modi’s national security adviser Ajit Doval.
The diplomatic rupture exploded Monday with Canada’s revelation of allegations that Indian diplomats have fed information about certain Sikh Canadians, believed by India to be pro-Khalistan separatist sympathizers, to criminal organizations which in turn have carried out acts of extortion, coercion, violence and even murder against Canadians on Canadian soil. It was those revelations that prompted Canada’s allies to express support this week.
An Australia Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson in a statement Wednesday said, “Australia has made clear our concerns about the allegations under investigation in Canada, and our respect for Canada’s judicial process.”
”Our position of principle is that the sovereignty of all countries should be respected and that the rule of law should be respected.”
It was similar to a statement issued earlier by New Zealand.
New Zealand, which had not spoken out publicly after the first round of Canadian allegations in September 2023 about suspicions linking Indian government deaths to the June 2023 killing of a Sikh Canadian gurdwara leader, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, issued a statement promptly after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s extraordinary news conference Monday.
Foreign Minister Winston Peters said Canada had shared with him details about the latest criminal investigations, and said that “the alleged criminal conduct outlined publicly by Canadian law enforcement authorities, if proven, would be very concerning.”
Peters declined further comment other than “it is important that the rule of law and judicial processes be respected and followed.” He noted New Zealand “has a diverse population, with large communities with cultural connections to a broad range of countries from across Asia, the Pacific and Europe. We expect all such communities to act, and be treated, lawfully and with respect.”
