Amid Nijjar Killing Row, Justin Trudeau Says 'Canada Is Serious About Stronger Ties With India But...'

(MENAFN- Live Mint) "Despite \"credible allegations\" of the Indian government's involvement in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has affirmed that Canada remains dedicated to strengthening its relationship with India, as reported by Canada-based National Post.Highlighting India's growing global influence, Trudeau emphasized the \"extreme importance\" of Canada and its allies maintaining active engagement with India.Canadian PM was speaking at a press conference in Montreal on Thursday, he said that he thinks it is“extremely important” that Canada and its allies continue to engage“constructively and seriously” with India given its growing importance on the world stage, as reported by ANI citing National Post.“India is a growing economic power and important geopolitical player. And as we presented with our Indo-Pacific strategy, just last year, we're very serious about building closer ties with India,” he told reporters.Also Read: India-Canada Row: What's at stake for Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau?“At the same time, obviously, as a rule of law country, we need to emphasize that India needs to work with Canada to ensure that we get the full facts of this matter,” National Post quoted Trudeau as saying.Trudeau mentioned that he received guarantees from the United States that Secretary of State Antony Blinken would address the publicly made allegations regarding India's involvement in the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar during a meeting with the Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar in Washington DC, scheduled for Thursday.“The Americans have been with us in speaking to the Indian government about how important it is that they be involved in following up on the credible allegations that agents of the Indian government killed a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil,” National Post quoted Trudeau as saying.Also Read: India-Canada row: EAM Jaishankar's point-by-point rebuttal to Trudeau's charges expected at UNGATrudeau further stressed that this is something that all democratic countries, all countries that respect the rule of law need to take seriously. \"We are moving forward in a thoughtful, responsible way anchored in the rule of law with all of our partners including in our approach to the Government of India,” he added.Trudeau told the Canadian House of Commons on September 18 that Canadian security agencies had been actively pursuing“credible allegations of a potential link” between agents of the Government of India and the killing of Nijjar.He also said that he had brought those concerns directly to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the G20 Summit and that India's top intelligence and security officials were informed of Canada's“deep concerns\", National Post reported.Also Read: India-Canada row: EAM Jaishankar meets Antony Blinken for bilateral talks; no mention of Nijjar's killing. 10 pointsTrudeau subsequently called on the Indian government to collabrate with Canada in order to thoroughly investigate this issue.It's worth noting that India has vehemently denied these allegations, dismissing them as both 'absurd' and 'motivated.'Importantly, Prime Minister Trudeau has not presented any public evidence to substantiate his assertion regarding the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.On the other hand, Trudeau's remarks led to the further worsening of already strained ties between the countries.In response to Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau's accusations of Indian involvement in the killing, India has taken the step of suspending its visa services in Canada.Also Read: India-Canada news: Cancellation of OCI registration to suspension of visaAmid strained ties, India issued an advisory for its citizens and those who are travelling to Canada to exercise“utmost caution in view of growing anti-India activities and politically-condoned hate crimes and criminal violence\" in the country.
(With inputs from ANI)

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