Trudeau Faces Pressure From Canadian Opposition To Provide Proof Of India's Alleged Role In Nijjar Killing

Canadian Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has called on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to provide concrete evidence linking the Indian government to the assassination of Khalistan Tiger Force chief Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

In a statement in the Canadian Parliament on Monday (18 September), Trudeau alleged that his government possesses "credible" intelligence pointing to India's involvement in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

Soon after Trudeau's claim, Canada expelled India's top foreign intelligence officer from the High Commission in Ottawa.

In response to the allegations, the Indian government strongly denied the allegations and expelled a Canadian diplomat in a tit-for-tat move.

“The Prime Minister needs to come clean with all the facts. We need to know all the evidence possible so that Canadians can make judgments on that,” Poilievre, who is the Leader of Opposition in the House of Commons, was quoted as saying by Globe and Mail.

Poilievre emphasized the importance of Trudeau being transparent and providing all the necessary facts to the Canadian public.

When asked whether the Trudeau led Canadian government should take stronger action than expelling an Indian diplomat, Poilievre responded, “We need to see more facts".

“The prime minister hasn’t provided any facts. He provided a statement. And I will just emphasize that he didn’t tell me any more in private than he told Canadians in public. So we want to see more information,” Poilievre said.

He stated that the allegations could be found untrue or uncredible if more information is not provided.

“We need to have the evidence that drew that allowed the prime minister to come to the conclusions he made yesterday,” he said.

When asked if he agreed with Trudeau's decision to go public with the allegations, he said, "I'd have to have more evidence to make a judgment on that".

The Conservative Leader suggested that the government's approach towards India seems "interesting" as compared to its response to China following the arrest of Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig in 2018.

“I find it interesting that he [Trudeau] knew about vast foreign interference by Beijing for many years at the same time Beijing kept two citizens hostage and he said nothing and he did nothing,” he said.