Vientiane (Laos)/Ottawa (Canada): Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Justin Trudeau met on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Laos, almost a year after his Canadian counterpart accused India of involvement in the death of a Canadian Khalistani separatist. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC News) on Friday said Trudeau described the meeting as a brief exchange when the two leaders met during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Vientiane, Laos held on Thursday.
Sources in New Delhi said there was no substantive discussion between Modi and Trudeau in Vientiane. "I emphasised that there is work that we need to do," the CBC News quoted Trudeau as saying. "I won't go into details about what we talked about but what I've said many times is that the safety of Canadians and upholding the rule of law is one of the fundamental responsibilities of any Canadian government and that's what I'll stay focused on, Trudeau told a press conference at Vientiane.
The ties between India and Canada were strained last year after Trudeau's allegations in September of a potential involvement of Indian agents in Hardeep Singh Nijjar's killing outside a gurdwara in Surrey city on June 18, 2023. India, which had designated Nijjar as a terrorist in 2020, has strongly rejected Trudeau's allegations as absurd and motivated.
India has been maintaining that the main issue between the two countries is that of Canada giving space to pro-Khalistan elements operating from Canadian soil with impunity. We are seeing troubling patterns of violence affecting Indo-Canadians right across the country over the past number of months, and this is an issue that I can assure you that we will continue to be very, very seized with, Trudeau said.
Trudeau maintained that he stands behind his allegation and said, national security agencies and law enforcement continue to be deeply engaged on this issue. Trudeau's statement comes a day after Canada's Foreign Minister Melanie Joly, while testifying at the Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference on Thursday, called relations with India as tense and very difficult right now, and added, there's still a threat of more killings like Nijjar's on the Canadian soil.
Joly said she has been pushing India to participate in the Canadian police investigation into Nijjar's death but so far that hasn't happened. Modi and Trudeau had last met on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Italy in June this year, their first meeting after Canada raised allegations regarding Nijjar's death.
Modi had then posted an image on social media of the two leaders shaking hands with a one-liner saying met Canadian PM Justin Trudeau at the G7 Summit. Next day, Trudeau said that there was a commitment to work together with India to deal with some very important issues.
Sources in New Delhi said there was no substantive discussion between Modi and Trudeau but added that India continues to expect that anti-India Khalistani activities will not be allowed to take place on Canadian soil and that "firm action, which is lacking thus far, will be taken against those advocating violence, extremism and terrorism against India from Canadian territory."
The growing nexus of such forces with organised crime, drug syndicates and human trafficking should be a concern for Canada as well, the sources added. India attaches importance to relations with Canada but maintains that these cannot be repaired unless the Canadian government takes strict and verifiable action against those who actively pursue anti-India activities and have conspired to promote hate, disinformation, communal disharmony and violence in India as well as Canada, they added.
