The allegation of India’s involvement in the killing of a Sikh Canadian is based on surveillance of Indian diplomats in Canada, including intelligence provided by a major ally, a Canadian official said on Thursday.
The official said the communications involved Indian officials and Indian diplomats in Canada, and some of the intelligence was provided by a member of the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance, which comprises the US, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
The official did not say which ally provided intelligence or give details of what was contained in the communications or how they were obtained. The official spoke on condition of anonymity, because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corp first reported the intelligence.
The revelation came as India stopped issuing visas to Canadian citizens and told Ottawa to reduce its diplomatic staff as the rift widened over allegations by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of suspected Indian involvement in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a 45-year-old Sikh separatist.
Ties between the two countries have plunged to their lowest point in years after Trudeau told the Canadian Parliament on Monday that there were “credible allegations” of Indian involvement in the assassination on Canadian soil.
Nijjar, a plumber who was born in India and became a Canadian citizen in 2007, had been wanted by New Delhi for years before he was gunned down in June outside the temple he led in Surrey, a suburb of Vancouver.
Speaking on Thursday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Trudeau acknowledged the complicated diplomatic situation.
“The decision to share these allegations on the floor of the House of Commons was not done lightly,” he said. “There is no question that India is a country of growing importance and a country that we need to continue to work with.”
“We are not looking to provoke or cause problems, but we are unequivocal around the importance of the rule of law and unequivocal about the importance of protecting Canadians,” he said.
The bombshell allegation set off an international tit-for-tat, with each country expelling a diplomat. India called the allegations “absurd.”
Canada has yet to provide public evidence to back Trudeau’s allegations, and Canadian Ambassador to the UN Bob Rae said that might not come soon.
“This is very early days,” Rae told reporters on Thursday, saying that while facts would emerge, they must “come out in the course of the pursuit of justice.”
“That’s what we call the rule of law in Canada,” he said.
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