NEW DELHI: Days after three Indian men were arrested in
Canada
for the killing of Khalistan separatist and Canadian national Hardeep Singh Nijjar, foreign minister Melanie Joly backed the police action saying Canada stood by its allegations that Indian agents murdered Nijjar, an India-designated terrorist.
Speaking later on Tuesday, Indian high commissioner Sanjay Verma accused foreign Sikh groups of crossing the "big red line" by casting an evil eye on the territorial integrity of India.
"We stand by the allegations that a Canadian was killed on Canadian soil by Indian agents," Joly said.
"The investigation by the RCMP is being done. I won't further comment and no other officials from our govt will further comment," she added.
In his first remarks since the Nijjar arrests, Verma seemed to link the case to domestic crime, according to a CTV News report.
"Indians will decide the fate of India, not the foreigners," Verma told the Montreal Council on Foreign Relations, a prominent think-tank. Verma also told the Council that relations between India and Canada are positive overall despite "a lot of noise".
Verma also told the Council that relations between India and Canada are positive overall despite "a lot of noise".
Verma also said the two countries are "trying to resolve this issue." "We are ready to sit down at the table any day, and we are doing that," he said.
Verma said the deeper problems underneath the recent "negative" developments have to do with Canada's misunderstanding of "decades-old issues," which he blames Canadians of Indian origin for resurfacing.
He said his chief concern is "national-security threats emanating from the land of Canada," noting that India does not recognise dual nationality, so anyone who emigrates is considered a foreigner. "Foreigners having, if I can call it, (an) evil eye on the territorial integrity of India - that is a big red line for us," he said.
He did not specify whether he was referring to foreigners being involved in the Nijjar case or the issue of Sikh separatism more broadly, the report said.
On Tuesday, India told Canada in a statement that celebration and glorification of violence should not be a part of any civilised society. Democratic countries which respect the rule of law should not allow intimidation by radical elements in the name of freedom of expression.
Verma also mentioned "so many positive things" happening in the relationship between India and Canada.
He noted the annual value of two-way trade is 26 billion Canadian dollars, and in the past 11 months, there has been a 75% jump in Canadian lentil exports and a 21% increase in Indian-prepared medicines reaching Canada.
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