WASHINGTON/OTTAWA, Sept 22 (Reuters) – The United States made clear on Friday that it anticipated the Indian authorities to work with Canada on efforts to examine the potential involvement of New Delhi brokers within the homicide of a Canadian citizen in June.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau mentioned on Monday that Ottawa had credible intelligence linking Indian brokers to the homicide of Sikh separatist chief Hardeep Singh Nijjar, prompting an offended response from New Delhi, which denies the allegation.
“We are deeply concerned about the allegations that Prime Minister Trudeau has raised,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken instructed reporters in a press briefing. “It would be important that India work with the Canadians on this investigation. We want to see accountability.”
The White House has spoken of its considerations over the allegations, however Blinken is probably the most senior U.S. official to have commented to this point.
Traditional Canadian allies, together with the United States, appeared to take a cautious strategy to the matter earlier this week. Political analysts mentioned this was partly as a result of the United States and different main gamers see India as a counterweight to the rising affect of China.
“We have been consulting throughout very closely with our Canadian colleagues, not just consulting but coordinating with them on this issue,” Blinken mentioned.
During a press convention Trudeau was requested concerning the allegations, and he repeated his name for the Indian authorities to cooperate.
Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau rises to make an announcement within the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Sept. 18, 2023. REUTERS/Blair Gable/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights
“We are there to work constructively with India. We hope that they engage with us so that we can get to the bottom of this very serious matter,” Trudeau mentioned.
On Friday, Trudeau additionally mentioned Canada shared its considerations with New Delhi a while in the past.
“Canada has shared the credible allegations that I talked about on Monday with India. We did that many weeks ago,” Trudeau instructed reporters.
The Canadian authorities has amassed each human and alerts intelligence in a months-long investigation into the Sikh separatist chief’s homicide, CBC News reported individually on Thursday citing sources.
The report mentioned the intelligence included communications of Indian officers current in Canada, including a few of the info was supplied by an unidentified ally within the Five Eyes alliance.
Five Eyes is an intelligence-sharing community that features the U.S., the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
However, Trudeau has not supplied any particulars about what Canada’s spy businesses have collected, and his workplace has not confirmed or denied the CBC report.
Senior Canadian authorities sources have mentioned that Trudeau wouldn’t have spoken publicly with out having a excessive degree of confidence within the intelligence.
Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington and Steve Scherer in Ottawa; Additional reporting by David Ljunggren in Ottawa; Editing by Daniel Wallis and David Gregorio
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