New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has raised doubts about the evidence supporting Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's claims of a "potential Indian link" in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canada-based Khalistan separatist.
When asked by The Indian Express whether Canada had shared information on the Nijjar case, Peters said, “Well, I wasn’t here, it was handled by the previous government. But look, sometimes when you’re hearing Five-Eyes information, you’re hearing it and saying nothing. It is coming past you. You don’t know the value or the quality of it, but you’re pleased to have it. You don’t know whether there is going to be substantial material value or nothing. But the very, very critical information that matters… This was mainly handled by the previous government.”
“As a trained lawyer, I look okay, so where’s the case? Where’s the evidence? Where’s the finding right here, right now? Well, there isn’t one,” he added.
New Zealand is a member of the Five-Eyes intelligence alliance along with the US, Canada, the UK, and Australia, who reportedly received intelligence from Canada regarding the Nijjar case.
Peters is currently on an official visit to India from March 10-13, and the development marks the first instance of a Five-Eyes partner questioning Canada's assertions.
Trudeau had on September 18 told the House of Commons – the lower house of the Canada's Parliament – that his government’s security agencies had been actively pursuing "credible allegations" about "a potential link" between New Delhi’s "agents" and the killing of Nijjar.
New Delhi dismissed the allegation, but Trudeau's statement led to a diplomatic row between India and Canada, straining bilateral relations.
Nijjar, a Khalistani Sikh extremist, was shot dead in the parking lot of a gurdwara in the British Columbia province on June 18, 2023.
The High Commissioner of India in Ottawa also said that New Delhi had not received any “specific or relevant information” from the Government of Canada.
Nijjar was the commander of the Khalistan Tiger Force and one of India’s most wanted fugitive extremists.
(With DHNS inputs)
Published 13 March 2024, 09:14 IST