While sticking to his allegation that Indian agents killed pro-Khalistan terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar , Canadian PM Justin Trudeau on Wednesday said that he lacked “evidentiary proof” but only had intelligence when he first went public with the accusations last year. Testifying before Foreign Interference Commission, he admitted Canada had not shared any evidence with India but only sought to work together and New Delhi kept demanding proof. “Our response was, well, it’s (proof) within your security agencies,” he said.
Later, he told the inquiry panel looking into surveillance of two Conservative lawmakers that there were “clear indications India had violated Canada’s sovereignty”, stopping short of repeating the claim they had shared “evidence” of Indian govt’s complicity in Nijjar’s killing. Canada PM defends separatists’ freedom of expression Trudeau’s choice of words echoed what govt officials in New Delhi have been saying for a year that Canadian authorities have not shared any evidence to back their claims. Trudeau, who is grappling with a big loss in public support, sought to play on the sovereignty of Canada and repeatedly tried to bracket India with China and Russia.
“Indian govt made a horrific mistake in thinking that they could interfere as aggressively as they did in the safety and sovereignty of Canada, and we need to respond,” Trudeau said. He said Canadian police started probing the Nijjar murder after “credible intelligence.