<p>New Delhi: A minister in Prime Minister <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/mark-carney">Mark Carney</a>’s government in Ottawa on Monday joined Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin and India’s Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/hardeep-singh-puri">Hardeep Singh Puri</a>, on the 40th anniversary of the bombing of Air India’s ‘Kanishka’ aircraft and paid homage to the 329 victims of the tragedy.</p> <p>The solemn ceremony at the Air India Memorial Garden at Ahakista in Cork County of Ireland, was attended by Canadian Minister of Public Safety Gary Anandasangaree.</p> <p>Puri called upon the Government of Canada to join India in countering the shared threat of terrorism. “Canada is a valued partner and friend. We share vibrant cultural and economic relations. India and Canada are bound by democratic traditions,” he said.</p> <p>He made the comment just days after Carney hosted Prime Minister <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/narendra-modi">Narendra Modi</a> for an outreach event held on the sidelines of the G7 summit at Kananaskis, Alberta, in Canada.</p>.A reset for India, Canada. <p>Modi and Carney had a meeting on June 18 and agreed to respect each other’s concerns and sensitivities to rebuild the bilateral relationship, which was wrecked by Ottawa’s allegation about New Delhi’s role in the June 18, 2023, murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a fugitive Khalistani Sikh extremist, who had fled from India and had taken shelter in Canada.</p> <p>Puri on Monday urged for deeper collaboration between India and Canada through intelligence sharing, counter-radicalisation efforts, and the disruption of terror financing. “India stands ready to do more. Our security agencies, intelligence apparatus, and diplomatic channels are fully committed to partnering with the world to ensure that such tragedies are never repeated,” he said on the 40th anniversary of the June 23, 1985, mid-air explosion that had killed all passengers and members of the crew onboard the Air India flight that had been operating on Montreal-Delhi-London-London-Delhi sectors.</p> <p>He stressed that terrorism and extremism were not issues of the past but present-day threats that continued to endanger innocent lives across the world. “India has suffered the scourge of terrorism for decades — from Jammu & Kashmir to Punjab to Mumbai. Time and again, our people have endured bombings, assassinations, and atrocities,” he said, while noting that countries across the world are grappling with this menace. He highlighted that global terrorism-related deaths increased by 22% in 2024.</p> <p>Carney’s predecessor, Justin Trudeau, in September 2023, had alleged that agents of the Government of India had been involved in the killing of Nijjar. New Delhi had refuted the allegation, which had, however, brought India-Canada relations to a new low over the past couple of years. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police had on October 14, 2024, publicly accused the agents of the Government of India of orchestrating criminal activities in Canada.</p> <p>New Delhi had in October 2024 withdrawn its then-envoy to Ottawa, Sanjay Kumar Verma, and his five colleagues, after they had been accused of being involved in the June 18, 2023, killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the fugitive ‘commander’ of the Khalistan Tiger Force, at the parking lot of a gurdwara in Surrey in the British Columbia province of Canada. India had rejected Canada’s request to waive the immunity of its diplomats and make them available for questioning by police. New Delhi had retaliated by expelling Canada’s six diplomats from India, including acting High Commissioner Stewart Wheeler. </p> <p>New Delhi has been asking Ottawa to act on the long-pending requests to extradite the Khalistani Sikh terrorists, including Gurjeet Singh, Gurjinder Singh, Gurpreet Singh, Lakhbir Singh Landa and Arshdeep Singh Gill, as well as to ensure that the extremists can no longer run a secessionist campaign against India from Canada. </p>
<p>New Delhi: A minister in Prime Minister <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/mark-carney">Mark Carney</a>’s government in Ottawa on Monday joined Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin and India’s Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/hardeep-singh-puri">Hardeep Singh Puri</a>, on the 40th anniversary of the bombing of Air India’s ‘Kanishka’ aircraft and paid homage to the 329 victims of the tragedy.</p> <p>The solemn ceremony at the Air India Memorial Garden at Ahakista in Cork County of Ireland, was attended by Canadian Minister of Public Safety Gary Anandasangaree.</p> <p>Puri called upon the Government of Canada to join India in countering the shared threat of terrorism. “Canada is a valued partner and friend. We share vibrant cultural and economic relations. India and Canada are bound by democratic traditions,” he said.</p> <p>He made the comment just days after Carney hosted Prime Minister <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/narendra-modi">Narendra Modi</a> for an outreach event held on the sidelines of the G7 summit at Kananaskis, Alberta, in Canada.</p>.A reset for India, Canada. <p>Modi and Carney had a meeting on June 18 and agreed to respect each other’s concerns and sensitivities to rebuild the bilateral relationship, which was wrecked by Ottawa’s allegation about New Delhi’s role in the June 18, 2023, murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a fugitive Khalistani Sikh extremist, who had fled from India and had taken shelter in Canada.</p> <p>Puri on Monday urged for deeper collaboration between India and Canada through intelligence sharing, counter-radicalisation efforts, and the disruption of terror financing. “India stands ready to do more. Our security agencies, intelligence apparatus, and diplomatic channels are fully committed to partnering with the world to ensure that such tragedies are never repeated,” he said on the 40th anniversary of the June 23, 1985, mid-air explosion that had killed all passengers and members of the crew onboard the Air India flight that had been operating on Montreal-Delhi-London-London-Delhi sectors.</p> <p>He stressed that terrorism and extremism were not issues of the past but present-day threats that continued to endanger innocent lives across the world. “India has suffered the scourge of terrorism for decades — from Jammu & Kashmir to Punjab to Mumbai. Time and again, our people have endured bombings, assassinations, and atrocities,” he said, while noting that countries across the world are grappling with this menace. He highlighted that global terrorism-related deaths increased by 22% in 2024.</p> <p>Carney’s predecessor, Justin Trudeau, in September 2023, had alleged that agents of the Government of India had been involved in the killing of Nijjar. New Delhi had refuted the allegation, which had, however, brought India-Canada relations to a new low over the past couple of years. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police had on October 14, 2024, publicly accused the agents of the Government of India of orchestrating criminal activities in Canada.</p> <p>New Delhi had in October 2024 withdrawn its then-envoy to Ottawa, Sanjay Kumar Verma, and his five colleagues, after they had been accused of being involved in the June 18, 2023, killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the fugitive ‘commander’ of the Khalistan Tiger Force, at the parking lot of a gurdwara in Surrey in the British Columbia province of Canada. India had rejected Canada’s request to waive the immunity of its diplomats and make them available for questioning by police. New Delhi had retaliated by expelling Canada’s six diplomats from India, including acting High Commissioner Stewart Wheeler. </p> <p>New Delhi has been asking Ottawa to act on the long-pending requests to extradite the Khalistani Sikh terrorists, including Gurjeet Singh, Gurjinder Singh, Gurpreet Singh, Lakhbir Singh Landa and Arshdeep Singh Gill, as well as to ensure that the extremists can no longer run a secessionist campaign against India from Canada. </p>
