India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has reiterated its stance regarding the lack of evidence from Canada following Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s admission that his government had not provided "hard evidentiary proof" when it accused India of involvement in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. The MEA stated that Trudeau’s comments “only confirm” what India has been saying all along.
“What we have heard today only confirms what we have been saying consistently all along – Canada has presented us no evidence whatsoever in support of the serious allegations that it has chosen to level against India and Indian diplomats,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in an official statement.
Jaiswal also attributed the deterioration of India-Canada relations to Trudeau’s actions. “The responsibility for the damage that this cavalier behaviour has caused to India-Canada relations lies with Prime Minister Trudeau alone,” he added.
Trudeau’s admission came during his testimony before Canada’s foreign interference inquiry. He acknowledged that while India had repeatedly asked for evidence regarding the allegations related to Nijjar’s killing, his government had provided "primarily intelligence, not hard evidentiary proof." The Canadian Prime Minister said, “Behind the scenes (we were trying) India to co-operate with us. Their ask was...give us the evidence you have on us. Our response was it is within your security agency. You should be looking into how much they know, you should be engaging... 'No, no but show us the evidence'. At that point, it was primarily intelligence, not hard evidentiary proof. So we said let's work together...”
Tensions between the two nations escalated after Trudeau’s initial accusations in the Canadian Parliament last year, where he claimed there were "credible allegations" of India’s involvement in Nijjar’s death. India has consistently rejected these allegations, labeling them as "absurd" and "motivated," while accusing Canada of providing a haven for extremist and anti-India elements.
Hardeep Singh Nijjar, designated a terrorist by India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) in 2020, was shot and killed outside a gurdwara in Surrey, Canada, in June 2023. The diplomatic row deepened when Canada designated India’s High Commissioner and other diplomats as "persons of interest" in its investigation of Nijjar’s death.
In response, India expelled six Canadian diplomats and summoned Canada’s Charge d'Affaires, Stewart Wheeler, to protest the “baseless targeting” of Indian officials. MEA highlighted that the Trudeau government’s actions, in a climate of rising extremism and violence, endangered the safety of Indian diplomats. Consequently, India decided to withdraw its High Commissioner to Canada, Sanjay Kumar Verma, along with other affected diplomats.
The Indian government also warned that it reserves the right to take further measures in response to what it perceives as Canada’s support for extremism, violence, and separatist activities against India.
