Bangladesh FM Momen on India-Canada row; 'Proud of India, they don't do immature things'

Bangladesh's Foreign Minister Dr. A. K. Abdul Momen has weighed in on the India-Canada diplomatic row, saying that Dhaka is "very proud of India because they don't do immature things." Momen labelled the allegations made by the Canadian government against India about the killing of the Sikh terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Ottawa as a "sad episode," hoping that the tussle would be resolved amicably. 

"I think it is very sad, I don't know the details of it so I can't make any comment but we are very proud of India because they don't do immature things. We have a very solid relationship with India and these are based on values and principles," Bangladesh's Foreign Minister Dr  A. K. Abdul Momen said. 

"This is a sad episode and I hope this will end up amicably," he added. 

Nijjar, the orchestrator and the leader of the separatist 'Khalistani' movement that threatens the security of India was shot dead by masked men in the city of Surrey, in Canada’s British Columbia province. Experts accused him of being funded, trained, and armed by the Pakistan Army's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) for operationalising his outfit for anti-India activities on Canadian soil. In an explosive claim, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged 'Indian agents' 'potential' involvement in the murder of the Khalistani terrorist on June 18. It is pertinent to note that Nijjar was designated as a terrorist here in India in 2020.

“Any involvement of a foreign government in the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil is an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty,” Trudeau said in the Canadian parliament, later expelling a top Indian diplomat whom he accused of being involved in intelligence without solid evidence. 

In a swift response to Canada's baseless allegations with no robust proof, the Ministry of External Affairs doubled down on having no links to the incident and derided the accusations as “absurd” and politically motivated. In a retaliatory move to Canada's expulsion of diplomatic mission, India suspended all visa applications for Canadians, and halted the trade negotiations, as well as advised the Indian citizens residing in Canada to "exercise extreme caution."

Fled to Canada with terrorism charges, forged a passport in 1996, travelled to Pakistan: Canada pursuit of justice for slain 'Khalistani' terrorist Nijjar 

Murdered Nijjar, a resident of Bhar Singh Pura village in Punjab's Jalandhar, fled to Canada and forged a passport in 1996 but survived as a low-key plumber by day and a truck driver at other times, as per his detailed profile revealed in a dossier cumulated by the Indian authorities. In his numerous fiery and divisive speeches, the separatist leader had called for the establishment of an independent state for Sikhs in India—the Kalistan.

Throughout the 1980s-90s, the deceased Nijjar was associated with the Khalistan Commando Force (KCF) terror faction, with close links to Jagtar Singh Tara, Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) Chief. Prior to his escape to Canada in 1996, he was slapped with several terrorism-related charges here in India, according to the Indian authorities' dossier. He also travelled to Pakistan in the guise of a Baisakhi Jatha member in April 2012 to receive training from the ISI, and on return to Canada, he widely engaged in drugs and arms smuggling. 

India, on numerous occasions, flagged the “growing anti-India activities and politically condoned hate crimes” by the Khalistani movement harboured by the Trudeau government. Defiant Trudeau, during the diplomatic tussle's unravelling, suggested that India must cooperate with Canadian authorities to “uncover the truth” behind the killing of whom he addresses as "a Canadian citizen."

Trudeau's government propelled the accusations against New Delhi for weeks while not making public any robust evidence that substantiated his flagrant claims of India's link with Nijjar's murder. He has, but threatened implications. 

US diplomat ropes in 'Five Eyes' intelligence sharing network 

In a turn of events, the son of the Khalistani separatist claims that his now-deceased father used to "regularly meet Canadian intelligence officers" in the months before he was shot dead in British Columbia last June. On Friday, the Canadian government, for the first time, unveiled that it received 'open source' intelligence from both human and electronic sources in a months-long investigation into Nijjar's killing.

US Ambassador to Canada David Cohen meanwhile has made claims that the "shared intelligence among Five Eyes partners" informed Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau of the possible involvement of the Indian agents in the killing. The previously ever-so-reluctant to wade into the matter, 'Five Eyes', is an intelligence-sharing network that includes the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Canadian public broadcaster, CBC, has listed four Canadian agencies that are involved with the Five Eyes:

• Communications Security Establishment (CSE), formerly called the Communications Security Establishment Canada (CSEC).
• The RCMP.
• Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS).
• Canadian Forces Intelligence Command.