OTTAWA: Sikh and Muslim leaders in Canada have called on the government of Canada to take more steps to stop potential threats against them. The demand comes after Canada announced an investigation of links between India and the assassination of a well-known Sikh leader in Canada.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday, World Sikh Organization of Canada board member Mukhbir Singh said that this week’s disclosures may “have surprised many people in Canada”. However, it was not a surprise to the member of the Sikh community,” he said during a press conference in Ottawa along with the head of the National Council of Canadian Muslims advocacy group.
Sikh, Muslim Groups Call for Action as Canada Investigates Sikh Leader’s Assassination
They made the remarks as Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told the country’s Parliament on Monday that Canada was probing “credible allegations of a possible link” between India’s agents and the June 18 killing of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in front of a Sikh temple in British Columbia.
Speaking alongside Mukhbir Singh, the head of the National Council of Canadian Muslims advocacy group called the killing of the Sikh leader “an unprecedented assault against Canada’s sovereignty, full stop”. We are all in this matter together,” he said to the media. “Because when a Canadian citizen is attacked, when he or she has the courage to speak regarding human rights and justice, all of us are in danger.”
Read Also: US Asks India to Join Probe into Canadian Sikh Leader’s Killing
A top Canadian government source disclosed on Tuesday that Canada’s authorities worked “very closely” with the US on intelligence that Indian agents had been possibly involved in the killing of a Sikh leader in British Columbia this year.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Monday that the country’s intelligence agencies were energetically pursuing reliable allegations tying India’s agents to the shooting of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June.
The top Canadian government sources told Reuter, “We have been working with the United States very closely, including on the public revelation yesterday. The evidence in the Canadian government’s possession would be shared “in due course”.
Similarly, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly Tuesday said that his government fully supports a Canadian investigation regarding India’s involvement in the assassination of Sikh community leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen.
James Cleverly told the media that he held a meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and discussed the matter.
