THE Toronto Star in an editorial pointed out that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was initially criticized for damaging Canada-India relations by not providing conclusive evidence of his allegation in the House of Commons in September that agents of the Indian government were complicit in the killing of a Canadian citizen — Hardeep Singh Nijjar — in B.C. in spite of the fact that a police investigation was underway.
However, the indictment filed last week in New York linking an agent of the Indian government to the plot to murder Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a dual Canadian-American citizen, shows Trudeau had solid intelligence. It has also become apparent that much of it came from the U.S., the Star editorial asserted.
It stated bluntly: “[India’s Narendra] Modi government may have a problem with Sikhs being allowed to speak freely in this country. The solution is not to hire hit men to kill them.”
It also noted: “How far up the political chain will Indian investigators be allowed to probe? It is hard to believe an internal Indian government investigation will be allowed to get anywhere near Modi, especially with an election looming. But, still, these allegations could help burnish Modi’s strong man aura at home, so there is incentive to leave them hanging through next May’s Indian elections.”
But the Star insisted: “The Trudeau government cannot let that happen. Trudeau said again last week that the Indian government must co-operate in any investigation of Nijjar’s murder. Ottawa and Washington must jointly demand that full co-operation from the Modi government and deliver a forceful message that extrajudicial killings of Canadian and American citizens cannot be tolerated.”
(thestar.com is Canada’s largest online news site)
