New York: Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday said that India is a country of growing importance, adding that Canada is not looking to provoke or cause problems and called upon the government of India to work with Ottawa to establish processes to uncover the truth in the murder of Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
He also stressed that Canada is unequivocal about the importance of the rule of law and protecting Canadians as well as standing up for values.
"There is no question, India is a country of growing importance and a country that we need to continue to work with not just in a region but around the world and we are not looking to provoke or cause problems but we are unequivocal about the importance of the rule of law and unequivocal about of the importance of protecting Canadians and standing up for values," Trudeau said while addressing a press conference at Canada’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York.
"That's why, we call upon the government of India to work with us to establish processes to uncover the truth of the matter and to allow justice and accountability to be served," Trudeau added.
Trudeau's recent statement comes as the diplomatic standoff between India and Canada escalated to a level that the envoys of both countries have been expelled in a tit-for-tat move.
Moreover, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also took questions about Canada's tensions with India during a press conference.
On sharing evidence, Canadian PM Justin Trudeau said, "Canada has a rigorous and independent justice system, that we trust, to follow through the processes, we will ensure that those processes are strictly, abided by and respected."
Regarding the safety of Canadians, he said, "I can tell everyone that Canada is a safe country. We always take Canadians' safety seriously, whether they are at home or abroad."
"Canada has a rigorous and independent justice system, that we trust, to follow through the processes, we will ensure that those processes are strictly, abided by and respected. In terms of safety in Canada and the safety of Canadians, we always take the safety of Canadians extremely seriously, whether at home or overseas, I can assure everyone that Canada is a safe country," Trudeau said, while adding, "I continue to call, for calm, and for Canadians to remain true to who we are, open, respectful, grounded in, respect and trust in our institutions and, our law enforcement and justice systems."
Speaking further, the Canadian PM repeated his allegations over the killing of the Khalistani leader and stated, "I think it's extremely important that as a country with a strong and independent justice system. We allow those justice processes to unfold themselves with the utmost integrity. But I can assure you, the decision to share these allegations on the floor of the House of Commons was not made lightly. It was done with utmost seriousness..."
Nijjar, the chief of Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) — a Sikh extremist organisation banned by India and a “designated terrorist” was killed in a targeted shooting at British Columbia in Canada's Surrey in June 2018.
Also read- Who was Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the Sikh activist whose killing has divided Canada and India?
(This story has been edited only for its length)
