North News
New Delhi, November 22
The Canadian government clarified on Friday that it has no evidence linking Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar, or National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval to the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June last year. Nathalie G. Drouin, National Security and Intelligence Advisor to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, issued a statement rejecting reports suggesting Modi or other top Indian officials were involved.
“The Government of Canada has not stated, nor is it aware of evidence, linking Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Minister Jaishankar, or NSA Doval to serious criminal activity within Canada. Any suggestion to the contrary is both speculative and inaccurate,” Drouin said.
“On October 14th, because of a significant and ongoing threat to public safety, the RCMP and officials took the extraordinary step of making public accusations of serious criminal activity in Canada perpetrated by agents of the Government of India,” Drouin said.
The statement comes in the wake of an article by The Globe and Mail, citing an unnamed security official who alleged that “Canadian security agencies believe PM Modi knew about Nijjar’s killing.”
India has also dismissed the Globe and Mail report as a “smear campaign.” Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “We do not normally comment on media reports. However, such ludicrous statements…should be dismissed with the contempt they deserve. Smear campaigns like this only further damage our already strained ties.”
Relations between India and Canada have been tense since Trudeau accused Indian operatives of involvement in Nijjar’s killing. India has consistently denied the allegations.
