Nothing new in Trudeau's statement on Nijjar's murder: MEA

Nothing new in Trudeau’s statement on Nijjar’s murder: MEA

India on Thursday said there is nothing new in Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s statement that he is looking to constructively work with New Delhi to get to the bottom of the killing of ‘Khalistan’ supporter and India-designated terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June last year.

At a media briefing here, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India is ready to investigate the killing but is yet to receive any specific and concrete information regarding it from Canada.

The spokesperson said India has also cautioned Canada against giving space to separatist elements on its soil.

Earlier in Ottawa, responding to the update on the investigation regarding Nijjar’s killing, Trudeau, after taking a long pause, said that they are looking to work constructively with the Indian government to get to the bottom of the matter.

He was asked, “How is India’s cooperation shaping up on the assassination investigations of Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar when Canada has credible allegations and India expects Canada to complete its own investigation first?”

The Canadian PM said, “The killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil is something that we all should take extremely seriously.”

“The credible allegations that agents of the Indian government were involved in–that is something that we did not declare lightly, but our responsibility to protect all Canadians from illegal actions by foreign governments is something that, as a country grounded in diversity, we need to take very seriously,” he added.

Further, he said that the Canadian government is ensuring that appropriate investigations are being done, according to a video shared by the CPAC.

“That’s why we’ve been unequivocal about standing up for the rule of law and ensuring that the appropriate investigations are being done in full accordance with our justice system and our police independence,” the Canadian PM said.