After assuring “all help” to India on the issue of Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s killing in Canada that has soured the relations between the two countries, Sukhminder aka Sukh Singh Dhaliwal, Liberal Party MP and close aide of Justin Trudeau, has reiterated to News18 that his government “won’t tolerate any attack on its citizens”.
India and Canada are embroiled in a diplomatic tussle after Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau claimed “a foreign agent’s” involvement in the killing of pro-Khalistani leader Nijjar in a broad daylight outside a Gurdwara in Surrey, Dhaliwal’s constituency, on June 18.
Since then, both the countries expelled their diplomats, and invoked some visa restrictions.
Dhaliwal, who had earlier mentioned that India and Canada share “good ties”, told News18 that Trudeau has “credible information and evidence” when he addressed Parliament last month on Nijjar’s killing after his return from the G20 Summit in New Delhi, and mentioned about the “foreign agent’s” involvement. “My job is to see all goes the fair way,” he said.
“The law enforcement agencies have enough evidence that made Trudeau make that statement. I can certainly say that PM Trudeau is very credible when he makes a statement. He does not do so without any evidence. I am happy someone can speak for Canada,” Dhaliwal said.
The Canadian government has so far not provided any evidence after it accused India of being involved in Nijjar’s killing despite New Delhi’s insistence.
When asked if there was any FIR or a suspect list from the Canadian police in the matter, Dhaliwal said only “time will tell”. “At this point, I can say that the PM was given the information, and he spoke. This is real leadership. The justice system in Canada is very fair. There is credible information that has made PM Trudeau say this”.
Dhaliwal has confirmed meeting Nijjar in 2019 at a time when a red corner notice (RCN) was issued against him. Dhaliwal was evasive on whether he as an MP alerted the government authorities about Nijjar when he was declared a terrorist by India in 2020.
Dhaliwal was also at a loss to explain Nijjar’s proximity with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) as claimed by Nijjar’s son. He also was evasive on the inference whether the Canadian authorities were actively shielding a ‘wanted’ man.
There are in fact allegations that the Canadian government was protecting Nijjar and allowing him to run his operations that included networking, training, financing and operationalising his Khalistan Terror Force (KTF) terror module.
“I am not here to defend Nijjar but Canada. This issue is about assassination. That is bothersome,” Dhaliwal said.
When asked if the Trudeau government will help India in extradition of gangsters Goldy Brar, Arsh Dalla and others, involved in terrorist activities, extortion and targeted killings, Dhaliwal said if New Delhi brings evidence, “we will support India in deliberations”.
Dhaliwal also said as a Canadian MP, he does not support the attack on the sovereignty of another country but he will not intervene if there are peaceful protests. Despite being repeatedly probed, Dhaliwal refused to take a clear position on whether he supports or is against calls for ‘Khalistan’.
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