The United Kingdom has expressed its ongoing communication with its Canadian counterparts regarding “significant accusations” originating from Ottawa concerning the potential involvement of the Indian government in the homicide of a Sikh separatist leader in the province of British Columbia earlier this year.
Australia has also conveyed its “deep concerns” regarding these allegations, as stated by a spokesperson for the Foreign Minister, Penny Wong, on Tuesday.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declared on Monday that his government is actively pursuing credible claims linking agents of the Indian government to the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh separatist leader killed in British Columbia.
Hardeep Singh Nijjar, aged 45, was fatally shot outside a Sikh temple on June 18 in Surrey, a Vancouver suburb with a sizable Sikh community. He advocated for an independent Khalistani state as a homeland for Sikhs and was designated as a “terrorist” by India in July 2020.
A spokesperson for the British government stated, “We maintain close contact with our Canadian counterparts in light of these serious allegations. Further comments would be inappropriate at this time, given the ongoing investigation by Canadian authorities.”
In April, India had requested increased monitoring of individuals in the UK who supported the Sikh separatist movement.
The Australian official remarked, “We are closely monitoring developments and have conveyed our concerns to India at senior levels.”
Trudeau, in an emergency address to the House of Commons, asserted that any involvement of a foreign government in the killing of a Canadian citizen constituted “an unacceptable breach of our sovereignty.”
In a statement issued late on Monday night, Adrienne Watson, spokesperson for the US National Security Council, expressed, “We are deeply troubled by the allegations mentioned by Prime Minister Trudeau earlier today.”
Trudeau did not directly accuse India of complicity in the murder. The Canadian Foreign Minister later employed more cautious language, stating that the allegations would be unacceptable “if proven true.”
The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team of British Columbia reported last month that there were three suspects, but no arrests have been made.
