Canadian journalist questions Trudeau’s credibility over his allegations against India

Senior Canadian journalist Sameer Kaushal said that the "credible information" claimed by Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau about the killing of Khalitani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar will have to be "decoded", questioning can Canadian PM will be able to give the answers.

“The statement made by the Canadian PM in Parliament that there is credible information (on the killing of Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar) will have to be decoded. We have to see if the PM of Canada and his party will be able to give an answer to this...,” said Sameer Kaushal, a senior Canadian journalist on Tuesday.

A day ago, Trudeau accused the Indian government of the fatal shooting of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. He claimed that his country's national security officials had reasons to believe that "agents of the Indian government" carried out the killing of the Canadian citizen, who also served as the president of Surrey's Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara.

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India has rejected Canadian allegations on the killing of Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar and expelled a top diplomat of Canada.

“This could deepen the crack in the partnership between Canada and India,” Kaushal added.

A day after Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau levelled 'allegations' on India being linked to the killing of Khalistan Tiger Force Chief Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Trudeau said on Tuesday that Ottawa wants New Delhi to address the issue properly, CBC News reported.

Trudeau said that Canada is not trying to provoke India by any means.

"We are not looking to provoke or escalate. We are simply laying out the facts as we understand them," the Canadian Prime Minister told reporters, according to CBC news.

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"The government of India needs to take this matter with the utmost seriousness. We are doing that," he said.

"As for Canada, I said yesterday...we are going to remain calm, we are going to remain grounded in our democratic principles and values.... and we are going to follow the evidence and make sure the work is done...," he added.

CBC News is a Canada-based media company, a division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Najjar, who was wanted in India, was gunned down outside a Gurdwara, in a parking area in Canada's Surrey, British Columbia on June 18.

Hailing from Bharsinghpur village in Punjab's Jalandhar, Nijjar was based in Surrey and had been declared "absconder" by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

"Canadian security agencies have been actively pursuing credible allegations of a potential link between agents of the Government of India and the killing of a Canadian citizen, Hardeep Singh Nijjar," Trudeau said.

India has, however, rejected the allegations by Canadian PM Trudeau regarding the government’s involvement in the fatal shooting of Nijjar. In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) termed the allegations ‘absurd ‘and ‘motivated’.

“We have seen and reject the statement of the Canadian Prime Minister in their Parliament, as also the statement by their Foreign Minister,” said the MEA in an official statement.

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