NEW ZEALAND BREAKS SILENCE ON CANADA-INDIA DIPLOMATIC ROW

Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot dead on June 18 in Surrey, British Columbia.

Thu 21 September 2023:

New Zealand’s top diplomat said that if Canadian allegations against India over the killing of a Sikh leader proved correct, it would be of serious concern, local media reported on Wednesday.

Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta’s statement came after Australia expressed its deep concern over alleged New Delhi involvement in the killing of a Sikh separatist leader in the Canadian westernmost province of British Colombia.

Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot dead on June 18 in Surrey, British Columbia, in front of a Sikh temple. So far, no arrests have been made.

“If those claims were proven true, that would be of serious concern. I won’t comment further on what is an ongoing criminal investigation in Canada,” local daily NZ Herald quoted the foreign minister as saying.

Earlier, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong also confirmed that Canberra has raised its concerns with India over the killing of the Sikh leader.

“I note that investigations are still underway, but obviously these are concerning reports, and as I’ve said, we are monitoring these developments closely with our partners, and we’ll continue to do so,” she told reporters in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Monday there are “credible allegations” that the Indian government was behind Nijjar’s shooting death.

India has criticized Canada for years over giving free rein to Sikh separatists, including Nijjar. New Delhi had accused him of having links to terrorism, which he denied.

Nijjar, a plumber, was also a leader in what remains of a once-strong movement to create an independent Sikh homeland, known as Khalistan. A bloody decadelong Sikh insurgency shook north India in the 1970s and 1980s until it was crushed in a government crackdown in which thousands of people were killed, including prominent Sikh leaders.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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