Reacting to the Canadian prime minister’s assertion in parliament that Indian government agents had murdered Canadian citizen Nardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil, the former head of India’s foreign intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), has said the claim is “absolutely bizarre” and that “we never assassinated people.”
Amarjit Singh Dulat repeatedly made clear that India is a liberal democracy and assassinating people, whether at home or abroad, is not something India’s intelligence or security agencies have ever even contemplated, leave aside carried out.
In a 18-minute interview to Karan Thapar for The Wire, Dulat was asked whether he believes the Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau would have made his announcement in his own parliament lightly and without evidence to back it up.
It is pointed out to Dulat that the BBC claims Prime Minister Trudeau has already raised this with US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Separately, The New York Times says Canada’s Foreign Minister Melanie Joly will raise this next week with Canada’s allies at the United Nations. Would Canada take these steps, Dulat was asked, if they don’t have credible evidence?
Dulat was told that NYT reports that Jody Thomas, Canada’s National Security Advisor, accompanied by the Head of Canada’s intelligence services, “travelled over the past few weeks to confront the Indian intelligence agencies with these allegations”. Doesn’t this mean, Dulat was asked, that we know what sort of evidence Canada has and, second, this was known to us before Trudeau came to India for the G20 Summit?
The Canadian PM told his parliament he raised this issue “in no uncertain terms” with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the G20 summit. Could this be why their meeting was so frosty, Dulat was asked?
If these allegations are true, Dulat was asked, will India and possibly PM Modi be in a position similar to Saudi Arabia when it was widely believed that Crown Prince Salman was responsible for the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi?
Finally, the Canadian PM, according to NYT, has said he will “pressure India to co-operate with the investigation into the killing of Mr. Nijjar”. How do you think the Indian government will respond, Dulat was asked? He said: “There is no question of co-operating. We have done nothing of this sort.”
In an official statement the Ministry of External Affairs has called the allegations “absurd and motivated”. The Ministry says this is an attempt to “shift focus from Khalistani terrorists and extremists who have been provided shelter in Canada and continue to threaten India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”.
India has also expelled a Canadian diplomat. Dulat was asked if the statement and expulsion are a good response.
As you can see, I’m deliberately leaving you to hear the interview to find out the answers to these issues. Watch the full interview here.