High Commissioner of India to Canada Sanjay Kumar Verma revealed in a recent interview with Canadian channel CTV that India is cooperating with the American investigation into an alleged foiled assassination attempt. However, India is not cooperating with Canada's investigation into the June killing of a Sikh leader in British Colombia. Verma attributed this disparity in cooperation to the differing levels of information shared by the two countries in their respective probes.
Verma explained that US authorities provided more specific information to India on their investigation into the alleged assassination attempt compared to what Canada had shared in the case of the Sikh leader's killing in British Colombia. The Financial Times earlier reported that American authorities had foiled a conspiracy to assassinate American-Canadian Sikh separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on US soil and raised concerns with India over its potential involvement in the alleged plot.
ALSO READ | 'India Was Convicted Without...': Indian Envoy On Canada's Probe Into Nijjar Killing
Despite the diplomatic tensions between Canada and India arising from allegations of India's involvement in the killing of Canadian Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, India has denied any wrongdoing. Verma dismissed the accusation as a "motivated and absurd allegation" and emphasized that India is "absolutely" and "decidedly" not involved in the homicide.
While relations between Canada and India have seen improvement through constructive dialogue, India remains unwilling to cooperate with the Canadian investigation into Nijjar's death. Verma explained that India has a different interpretation of cooperation and finds the term "humiliating" as it implies guilt. However, he expressed India's willingness to examine specific and relevant information if presented by Canada.
Regarding India-US relations, Verma noted that Indian authorities are cooperating in the American investigation due to legally presentable inputs. However, he clarified that India's non-cooperation with Canadian authorities is because no such information has been shared in the case of Nijjar's death. Verma emphasized the need for specific and relevant facts before India could consider any cooperation in the investigation. "The investigation in case of the US as far as I know and understand … is at a much (more) advanced stage, and therefore, I presume, that there would be better information shared with India,” he was quoted as saying by CTV.
In the interview, Verma also discussed India's decision to restore some visa applications for Canadians, the revocation of diplomatic status for dozens of envoys based partially on an emotional element, and the Sikh separatism movement in Canada. He told CTV that when India suspended the e-visa and other visa services, the primary concern was the security and safety of consular and diplomatic staff. "So, we did a continuous evaluation of the situation. During the last evaluation, we came to the conclusion that now the security situation is relatively better than what used to be when we suspended the visa services. And therefore, we decided to resume e-visa services," he said