Nijjar Murder Row: India Vindicated; Setback For Justin Trudeau As Canadian Inquiry Fails To Prove Foreign Link-OxBig News Network

India-Canada Row: In a blow to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, a report by Canada’s Foreign Interference Committee stated that the inquiry into Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s murder found no definitive link to any foreign state. Trudeau had accused India of orchestrating the assassination of Khalistani terrorist Nijjar on Canadian soil. The Canadian government had also alleged the involvement of Indian Home Minister Amit Shah in the case. India has denied all allegation while asking Canada to present concrete evidence.

Discussing alleged foreign interference in Canadian elections, a public inquiry cautioned against misinformation while acknowledging that some foreign entities attempted to meddle. However, it concluded that the country’s democratic institutions remain strong.

“Disinformation is also used as a retaliatory tactic, to punish decisions that run contrary to a state’s interests. This may have been the case with a disinformation campaign that followed the Prime Minister’s announcement regarding suspected Indian involvement in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar (though again no definitive link to a foreign state could be proven),”

The report claimed that Canada was trying to improve relations with India but the same got derailed after Nijjar’s killing.

“Until recently, Canada was trying to improve its bilateral relationship with India. However, the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, coupled with credible allegations of a potential link between agents of the Government of India and Mr. Nijjar’s death, derailed those efforts. India has repeatedly denied these allegations,” noted the report.

The report also accused China, India, Pakistan and Russia of carrying out foreign interference activities. The Canadian government established the public inquiry in September 2023 to investigate whether China, Russia and other countries interfered in Canadian federal elections in 2019 and 2021 that re-elected Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals. India has rejected the report and the allegation of interfering in the Canadian democratic process.