The Biden administration on Tuesday urged India to take Canadian allegations of an assassination plot against Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar seriously and cooperate with Canadian investigators.
Canada and India expelled six of each others’ diplomats on Monday as their feud over the matter escalated.
“When it comes to the Canadian matter, we have made clear that the allegations are extremely serious and they need to be taken seriously,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said on Tuesday.
“We wanted to see the government of India cooperate with Canada in its investigation. Obviously, they have not. They have chosen an alternate path,” Miller said.
The State Department said on Monday that a representative from India’s Enquiry Committee visited Washington, D.C. as part of an “ongoing investigation” into another assassination plot, in which an Indian national has been charged with trying to hire an assassin to kill a Sikh separatist leader living in New York City.
Miller did not provide any details on Monday’s meeting with the Indian representative, other than describing it as a “follow-up on conversations we have been having with the Government of India at the senior-most levels over the past several months.” He insisted the meeting in Washington was planned long before the latest diplomatic row erupted between Canada and India.
“The fact that they sent an Enquiry Committee here, I think, demonstrates that they are taking this seriously,” said White House National Security Council (NSC) spokesman John Kirby said of India’s engagement with the United States.
Canada has accused the Indian government of assassinating Nijjar outside a Vancouver temple in September 2023. Nijjar was a prominent leader in the Khalistan movement, which is dedicated to creating an independent Sikh state from territory in India.
The Indian government considers the Khalistan movement a security threat with links to organized crime and terrorism, and is angry that Canada has provided safe harbor for Sikh separatists. Nijjar was designated as a terrorist by the Indian government in 2020.
India further complains that Canada’s allegations of state involvement in Nijjar’s murder have been made without compelling evidence.
Writing at Firstpost on Tuesday, American Enterprise Institute (AEI) senior fellow Michael Rubin suggested the next escalation could be India labeling Canada as a state sponsor of terrorism for supporting the Khalistani movement.
Rubin argued that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has misrepresented intelligence provided by the United States as firm proof that India commissioned Nijjar’s murder, which he said was more like a “gangland hit” than a state-sponsored assassination. He also accused the Trudeau administration of conflating the Sikh religion with the militant Khalistani movement.
“Perhaps Trudeau believed the volume and frequency of the accusation could trump truth. He also may believe that doubling down on Sikh militants might win him votes in key districts. On both points, he is wrong,” Rubin said.
India’s NDTV on Wednesday downplayed the Biden administration’s support for Canada in the diplomatic row, crediting the U.S. government with being more “discreet” and “restrained” than the Canadians.
NDTV noted that the U.S. State Department has been “emphasizing the need for cooperation between the two countries,” rather than hurling public accusations of murder, as Trudeau has done.
The Times of India (TOI) was pleased to report on Wednesday that backbencher Sean Casey became the first member of the Liberal Party of Canada to openly call for Trudeau’s resignation. A growing number of Liberals are reportedly pressuring Trudeau to step down behind the scenes, but Casey is the first to make the demand in public.
“The timing of Casey’s comments comes as Trudeau faces anti-incumbency pressure amid strained relations with India,” TOI noted.
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