Hours after New Delhi expelled six Canadian diplomats and announced withdrawing its high commissioner and other “targeted” officials from Canada, Trudeau held a press conference in which he said the development was discussed with Canada‘s allies.Trudeau also said that his government has shared with the Five Eyes partners, the US in particular, all information related to allegations of the involvement of Indian officials in the killing of a Canadian national last year.
A post by the official account of the Canadian PM on X read, “Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke with the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Sir Keir Starmer, about the targeted campaign against Canadian citizens by agents linked to the Government of India”
“From the beginning, as of last summer, we’ve worked closely with our Five Eyes partners, particularly with the United States, where they have gone through a similar pattern of behaviour from India in regards to an attempted extrajudicial killing,” Trudeau said at the press meet in Ottawa. “We will continue to work with our allies as we stand up together for the rule of law,” he said.
The US State Department has so far not commented on the diplomatic crisis between its two close allies and partners. While the UK has also not reacted to the current crisis, India remains concerned over Sikh terrorism and radicals operating out of the UK. The matter has been repeatedly raised with the British government.
People told ET that India is closely monitoring any reaction from the Five Eyes whose intelligence agencies coordinate among themselves. Australia, whose foreign and defence secretaries are in India for the 2+2 meeting, did not either raise the issue of Indian “agents” targeting Sikh community in Australia or the India-Canada crisis. The Australian PM had earlier mentioned that such matters are discussed in private.Meanwhile, Australian assistant minister for immigration Matt Thistlethwaite on Monday launched an event for a Working Holiday Maker visa programme for India.