All posts tagged: Hardeep Singh Nijjar

Canadian minister confirms he informed newspaper of Amit Shah’s alleged ‘role’ in plot to target Khalistanis | Latest News India

Canadian minister confirms he informed newspaper of Amit Shah’s alleged ‘role’ in plot to target Khalistanis | Latest News India

Canada’s deputy foreign minister David Morrison on Tuesday confirmed that he had told The Washington Post that home Union minister Amit Shah had allegedly authorised a wave of violence against Sikh separatists on Canadian soil, Reuters reported. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during a meeting in Ottawa, Tuesday. (AP) The Indian government has dismissed Canada’s prior accusations as baseless, denying any involvement. David Morrison joined other senior officials testifying before members of Parliament on the public safety and national security committee. MPs on the committee asked questions about the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s allegation two weeks ago that agents of the Indian government were complicit in widespread crimes in Canada. The Washington Post had earlier claimed that Canadian security agencies had collected evidence that “a senior official in India” had “authorized the intelligence-gathering missions and attacks on Sikh separatists” in Canada. The report went on to say that a Canadian source identified Amit Shah as being the Indian official in question. “The journalist called me and asked me if it was that person. I …

CIA To Mossad, Why West Should Stop Lecturing Others On Espionage

CIA To Mossad, Why West Should Stop Lecturing Others On Espionage

On a blustery, cold January day in 2011 in Lahore, a CIA contractor and former US Special Forces operative was driving through a busy street when two motorcyclists who allegedly attempted to rob him—or that is what he claimed—were shot and killed by him. In the ensuing chaos, he hit another car, got caught and was promptly charged with murder. You might think this was a minor incident, but Washington didn’t. Davis was hardly a big fish in the CIA pond, yet the Obama administration threw a diplomatic tantrum generally typical of a superpower. Diplomatic relations and the $2 billion in annual aid to Pakistan were frozen. The US falsely claimed Davis was a diplomat, deserving immunity. Pakistan’s investigation showed he was a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operative and therefore wasn’t covered by diplomatic immunity. Initially, it refused to back down despite the political heat. In the end, after a 50-day standoff, Davis was whisked back to the US, but not before $2.34 million of blood money exchanged hands, reportedly compensating the victims’ families. He …

Morning briefing: Indian diplomat terms Nijjar probe ‘political’; Kolkata medics to meet Mamata on RG Kar impasse, more | Latest News India

Morning briefing: Indian diplomat terms Nijjar probe ‘political’; Kolkata medics to meet Mamata on RG Kar impasse, more | Latest News India

India’s high commissioner to Canada, Sanjay Verma, denied any involvement in the murder of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar and said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had wrecked bilateral political ties. India recalled Verma and other diplomats after Canada labelled them as “persons of interest” in a probe linked to Nijjar’s death. In an interview on CTV’s Question Period, the Indian ambassador said the allegations by Trudeau and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) are politically motivated. Dig deeper High Commissioner of India to Canada Sanjay Kumar Verma speaks during an interview in Ottawa, Canada June 24, 2024.(REUTERS) The agitating junior doctors are scheduled to meet West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday in another attempt to resolve the impasse over the RG Kar rape-murder case issue. However, the doctors have asserted that their hunger strike will continue till the meeting, and the future of their movement will be decided on the basis of the outcome of the meeting. West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on Saturday urged the junior doctors protesting the rape-murder of their …

‘Khalistani terrorists are Canada’s deep assets’: Envoy Sanjay Kumar Verma | Latest News India

‘Khalistani terrorists are Canada’s deep assets’: Envoy Sanjay Kumar Verma | Latest News India

Indian envoy Sanjay Kumar Verma, who was recalled after Canada said senior diplomats were “persons of interest” in the Hardeep Singh Nijjar murder probe, has alleged that Khalistani extremists and terrorists are “deep assets” of Canada Security Intelligence Service (CSIS). High Commissioner of India to Canada Sanjay Kumar Verma. In an interview with Canada-based CTV News, Verma said the Justin Trudeau government encouraged Khalistani extremists “all the time”. “This is my allegation, I also know that some of these Khalistani extremists and terrorists are deep assets of CSIS, again I’m not giving any evidence,” he said. The Justin Trudeau government has alleged that Indian agents were involved in the murder of Khalistani separatist Nijjar. India called the allegation absurd and motivated. India has also been pressing the Canadian government to provide concrete evidence proving their allegation. Last week, Canadian PM Trudeau said at an inquiry that the government’s claims were based on intelligence, not hard evidence. Envoy Verma exhorted the Canadian regime to understand India’s core concerns. “We only want the Canadian regime of the …

‘Trudeau made sure…’: Indian envoy who Canada named ‘person of interest’ in Nijjar probe | Latest News India

‘Trudeau made sure…’: Indian envoy who Canada named ‘person of interest’ in Nijjar probe | Latest News India

India’s high commissioner to Canada, Sanjay Verma, denied any involvement in the murder of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar and said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had wrecked bilateral political ties. India recalled Verma and other diplomats after Canada labelled them as “persons of interest” in a probe linked to Nijjar’s death. High Commissioner of India to Canada Sanjay Kumar Verma speaks during an interview in Ottawa, Canada.(REUTERS) In an interview on CTV’s Question Period, the Indian ambassador said the allegations by Trudeau and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) are politically motivated. “Nothing at all,” Verma said when asked if he had any role in the shooting of Hardeep Singh Nijjar who was killed outside a cultural centre in Surrey, British Columbia on June 18, 2023. “No evidence was presented. Politically motivated.” He said that Trudeau had been relying on intelligence rather than evidence. “On the basis of intelligence, if you want to destroy a relationship, be my guest. And that’s what he did,” Verma said in an interview broadcast on Sunday. “Evidence should have …

Vikas Yadav indictment, Nijjar killing part of ‘single murder plot’, claims Canadian envoy | Latest News India

Vikas Yadav indictment, Nijjar killing part of ‘single murder plot’, claims Canadian envoy | Latest News India

Canadian High Commission to India Cameron Mackay, who had completed his term and left the country in August, has alleged that the US indictment of a former Indian government employee is linked to a ‘murder plot’ that Canada is probing. In an interview with CBC, he claimed that Vikas Yadav being probed in an alleged plot to assassinate pro-Khalistani leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on the US soil paints a “compelling and detailed portrait” of “a single plot” originating from Delhi, aimed at multiple targets across North America, specifically in Canada and the United States. Vikash Yadav who has been charged by the US for allegedly directing a foiled plot to murder a Sikh separatist in New York.(Reuters) India has dismissed these allegations numerous times, calling them ‘absurd’ and a part of Justin Trudeau’s strategy to win votes ahead of the upcoming elections. Mackay’s remarks mark the first occasion that the Canadian envoy – who still holds the title of High Commissioner – has publicly linked the two alleged plots: the killing of pro-Khalistan separatist Hardeep …

In US indictment, hints of a purported link with Nijjar | Latest News India

In US indictment, hints of a purported link with Nijjar | Latest News India

Washington: On June 18, 2023, Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot dead in Canada. The same day, Vikash Yadav, a then serving government of India official, messaged Nikhil Gupta, his intermediary in an effort to nudge a hitman to assassinate Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, with both a video that showed Nijjar’s body and instructions to hasten the killing of Pannun after initially telling him to wait till the Indian Prime Minister had completed his planned visit to the US. Hardeep Singh Nijjar and Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. To be sure, these are just claims by Yadav, according to US authorities, and may have been exaggerated even if the conversations are accurately reproduced. But in that assertion of the Department of Justice indictment lies the possibility of the Nijjar assassination and the Pannun assassination plot being intertwined. In that may also lie the basis of the intelligence sharing between US and Canada that propelled Ottawa to allege that government of India agents had a role in Nijjar’s killing. And in that lies what has become a triangular India-US-Canada espionage …

UPSC Issue at a Glance

UPSC Issue at a Glance

UPSC Issue at a Glance is an initiative of UPSC Essentials to focus your prelims and mains exam preparation on an issue that has been in the news. Every Thursday, cover a new topic in Q&A format and don’t miss MCQs towards the end of the article. This week’s topic is the India-Canada Diplomatic Row. Let’s get started! If you missed last week’s UPSC Issue at a Glance |What has reignited the “One Nation, One Election” debate? from the Indian Express, read it here. What is the issue? The sharp escalation of the diplomatic row between India and Canada, a first-of-its-kind situation in India’s diplomatic relations with the West, has raised concerns about potential ripple effects in a range of areas including trade and people-to-people ties. UPSC Syllabus:  Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance Mains Examination: GS-II: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora. Other areas of relevance:  UPSC Aspirants will find it useful in Essays, and Current affairs for their Personality tests. Question 1: What are the main causes …

Congress to govt: Issue clear response to Canada, allegations can damage Brand India | India News

Congress to govt: Issue clear response to Canada, allegations can damage Brand India | India News

The Congress Wednesday asked the government to come out with a prompt and clear response to allegations levelled by Canada, saying these can tarnish the country’s global reputation and damage Brand India. The main Opposition party also reiterated its demand that the government take the Opposition into confidence and brief its leaders about the fresh diplomatic row that has worsened India-Canada relations. “Our nation’s international image as a country that believes in and adheres to rule of law is at risk, and it is crucial that we act together to defend it. On matters relating to national security and foreign policy, the nation must always be one,” said Congress communication head Jairam Ramesh. The Congress’s hardening of stance came even as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau admitted that his government only provided intelligence and no proof to India over the killing of Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil, before going public with the allegations. Ramesh said the charges levelled by Canada are serious. “The Indian National Congress has already asked the Prime Minister to take …