Canada denies own media claims linking Modi, Jaishankar, Doval to Nijjar killing

The Canadian government has dismissed a media report linking Prime Minister Narendra Modi, external affairs minister S. Jaishankar and national security advisor Ajit Doval to criminal activities in Canada, including the alleged plot to kill Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, terming it as "speculative and inaccurate”.

The denial, issued by Nathalie G. Drouin, national security and intelligence advisor to the Canadian prime minister, came on Thursday, a day after India strongly trashed the report as a "smear campaign".

Quoting an unnamed senior national security official, the Globe and Mail newspaper on Tuesday reported that Canadian security agencies believe PM Modi knew about the killing of Nijjar and other violent plots. The official was also quoted as saying Canadian and American intelligence tied the assassination operations to Union home minister Amit Shah. Also in the loop, the official said, were Doval and Jaishankar.

In a statement issued by the Privy Council Office on Thursday, 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."

However, she said, "The Government of Canada has not stated, nor is it aware of evidence, linking Prime Minister Modi, minister Jaishankar, or NSA Doval to the serious criminal activity within Canada. Any suggestion to the contrary is both speculative and inaccurate.”

At a press conference on 14 October, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) commissioner Mike Duheme warned of widespread violence, homicides and a public security threat linked to "agents" of the Indian government.

Hours after Duheme's conference, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters, “I believe that India has made a monumental mistake by choosing to use their diplomats and organised crime to attack Canadians, to make them feel unsafe here at (their) home, and even more, to create acts of violence and even murder. It's unacceptable.”

On 26 October, Canadian deputy foreign affairs minister David Morrison alleged that Indian home minister Shah ordered a campaign of violence, intimidation and intelligence-gathering targeting Sikh separatists inside Canada.

In New Delhi on Wednesday, referring to the the Globe and Mail report, external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said such "ludicrous statements" should be dismissed with the contempt they deserve and "smear campaigns like this only further damage our already strained ties".

India-Canada ties remain deeply troubled over Canada's alleged support to Khalistani separatists and its accusation of India's involvement in the killing of Nijjar, who was gunned down in Surrey, British Columbia in June 2023.

India-Canada ties further nosedived last month after Canada linked Indian high commissioner Sanjay Verma and some other diplomats to the murder. India has strongly rejected all the allegations made by Ottawa in connection to the case and subsequently recalled the high commissioner. The Canadian government had said the Indian diplomats were expelled from the country.

India expelled Canadian charge d'affaires Stewart Wheeler and five other diplomats following Canada's allegations.

New Delhi accuses Ottawa of doing next to nothing to stop the activities of Khalistani supporters who seek to undermine the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India.