US 'rejected Canada's call for condemnation of India' for Hardeep Singh Nijjar's death

Weeks before Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made allegations against India, saying that the country had links with the killing of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, officials in Ottawa had sought support from its allies including the US to publicly condemn the murder, a Washington Post report has revealed. However, these requests were met with reluctance by the US. The report says that during the weeks leading up to the G20 Summit in September that was held in India, the Five Eyes countries – UK, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand – held closed-door discussions over the alleged assassination of Nijjar, who is a Canadian citizen. The countries, however, chose not to make any public comment on the matter during the summit. On Monday, Trudeau said that “agents of the Indian government" were involved in the killing of the separatist leader. Nijjar, 45,  served as the chief of the banned Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) and was designated as one of India’s most wanted terrorists. However, New Delhi on Tuesday rejected Canada’s allegations of Indian agents being involved in the killing of pro-Khalistan leader In a tit-for-tat move to the Trudeau administration expelling an Indian diplomat, New Delhi ordered a Canadian envoy, believed to be spying for the country in India, to leave within five days. While Trudeau emphasised that Canada was not looking to provoke or escalate the situation, India has rejected its accusation as “absurd and motivated,” shifting the focus to Khalistani terrorists and extremists sheltered in Canada. “We have seen and reject the statement of the Canadian Prime Minister in their Parliament, as also the statement by their Foreign Minister. Allegations of the Government of India’s involvement in any act of violence in Canada are absurd and motivated,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement. With inputs from ANI