Committed To Closer Ties With India, Says Justin Trudeau Amid Row

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that Canada is still committed to building closer ties with India, despite "credible allegations" of the Indian government's involvement in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Canada-based National Post reported. Pointing to the increasing influence of India worldwide, Trudeau said that it is "extremely important" that Canada and its allies continue to engage with India.

Speaking at a press conference in Montreal on Thursday, Trudeau said that he thinks it is "extremely important" that Canada and its allies continue to engage "constructively and seriously" with India given its growing importance on the world stage.India is a growing economic power and important geopolitical player. And as we presented with our Indo-Pacific strategy, just last year, we're very serious about building closer ties with India," he told reporters.

At the same time, obviously, as a rule of law country, we need to emphasize that India needs to work with Canada to ensure that we get the full facts of this matter," National Post quoted Trudeau as saying.Trudeau said he got assurances from the US that Secretary of State Antony Blinken would be raising the allegations made publicly about India's role in Nijjar's murder during a meeting with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar in Washington DC on Thursday.

The Americans have been with us in speaking to the Indian government about how important it is that they be involved in following up on the credible allegations that agents of the Indian government killed a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil," National Post quoted Trudeau as saying.Trudeau then urged the Indian government to cooperate with Canada "to get to the bottom of this matter."

Notably, Trudeau has yet to provide any public evidence to support the claim about the slaying of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Trudeau's remarks led to the further worsening of already strained ties between the countries.India has suspended its visa services in Canada, following Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau's allegations of Indian involvement in the killing.However, India has outrightly rejected the allegations, calling them 'absurd' and 'motivated'.