Canada still committed to build closer ties with India: Trudeau amid standoff

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that Canada is still committed to building closer ties with India despite ldquocredible allegationsrdquo of the Indian governmentrsquos involvement in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar Canadabased National Post reportedPointing to the increasing influence of India worldwide Trudeau said that it is ldquoextremely importantrdquo that Canada and its allies continue to engage with IndiaSpeaking at a press conference in Montreal on Thursday Trudeau said that he thinks it is ldquoextremely importantrdquo that Canada and its allies continue to engage ldquoconstructively and seriouslyrdquo with India given its growing importance on the world stageldquoIndia is a growing economic power and important geopolitical player And as we presented with our IndoPacific strategy just last year wersquore very serious about building closer ties with Indiardquo he told reportersldquoAt the same time obviously as a rule of law country we need to emphasize that India needs to work with Canada to ensure that we get the full facts of this matterrdquo National Post quoted Trudeau as sayingTrudeau said he got assurances from the US that Secretary of State Antony Blinken would be raising the allegations made publicly about Indiarsquos role in Nijjarrsquos murder during a meeting with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar in Washington DC on ThursdayldquoThe Americans have been with us in speaking to the Indian government about how important it is that they be involved in following up on the credible allegations that agents of the Indian government killed a Canadian citizen on Canadian soilrdquo National Post quoted Trudeau as sayingldquoThis is something that all democratic countries all countries that respect the rule of law need to take seriously We are moving forward in a thoughtful responsible way anchored in the rule of law with all of our partners including in our approach to the Government of Indiardquo he addedAlso read TMC asks residents to join Swachhata Hi Seva campaign on SundayTrudeau told the Canadian House of Commons on September 18 that Canadian security agencies had been actively pursuing ldquocredible allegations of a potential linkrdquo between agents of the Government of India and the killing of NijjarHe also said that he had brought those concerns directly to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the G20 Summit and that Indiarsquos top intelligence and security officials were informed of Canadarsquos ldquodeep concernsrdquo National Post reportedTrudeau then urged the Indian government to cooperate with Canada ldquoto get to the bottom of this matterrdquoHowever India has outrightly rejected the allegations calling them lsquoabsurdrsquo and lsquomotivatedrsquoNotably PM Trudeau has yet to provide any public evidence to support the claim about the slaying of Hardeep Singh NijjarOn the other hand Trudeaursquos remarks led to the further worsening of already strained ties between the countriesIndia has suspended its visa services in Canada following Canadian Prime Minister Trudeaursquos allegations of Indian involvement in the killingAmid strained ties India issued an advisory for its citizens and those who are travelling to Canada to exercise ldquoutmost caution in view of growing antiIndia activities and politicallycondoned hate crimes and criminal violencerdquo in the countryThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever