India must take this seriously - Trudeau on Canada's Nijjar charges
After the united states claimed that it had foiled an assassination attempt against Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a leader of Sikhs for Justice, a New York-based group advocating for an independent Sikh state within india, canada sought more cooperation from india in an investigation into his murder in british Columbia.
"The news from the united states reinforces what we've been saying from the beginning, which is that india needs to take this seriously," Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau was reported as saying by news agency Reuters. The US Justice Department announced earlier on wednesday that it was accusing 52-year-old Nikhil Gupta, who had collaborated with an indian government official, with conspiring to hire a hit man to assassinate Pannun.
The US charges come around two months after canada confirmed "credible" allegations that indian operatives were involved in the june assassination of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in a Vancouver suburb, an allegation india has rejected. Trudeau underlined the importance of cooperation, saying, "The indian government needs to work with us to ensure that we're getting to the bottom of this."
On wednesday, Canadian Foreign minister Melanie Joly encouraged india to be more transparent in the continuing murder probe, underlining the country's expectation of more collaboration.
"The news from the united states reinforces what we've been saying from the beginning, which is that india needs to take this seriously," Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau was reported as saying by news agency Reuters. The US Justice Department announced earlier on wednesday that it was accusing 52-year-old Nikhil Gupta, who had collaborated with an indian government official, with conspiring to hire a hit man to assassinate Pannun.
The US charges come around two months after canada confirmed "credible" allegations that indian operatives were involved in the june assassination of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in a Vancouver suburb, an allegation india has rejected. Trudeau underlined the importance of cooperation, saying, "The indian government needs to work with us to ensure that we're getting to the bottom of this."
On wednesday, Canadian Foreign minister Melanie Joly encouraged india to be more transparent in the continuing murder probe, underlining the country's expectation of more collaboration.