Ottawa, September 21, 2023 (PPI-OT): Sikh and Muslim leaders in Canada have called on the Canadian government to do more to prevent potential threats against their communities, after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a probe of possible links between India and the killing of a prominent Sikh leader in the country.
According to Kashmir Media Service, World Sikh Organization of Canada board member, Mukhbir Singh, during a joint news conference with the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) in Ottawa said this week’s revelations may have shocked many Canadians but it was not a surprise to the Sikh community.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday told the Parliament that Canada was investigating “credible allegations of a potential link” between Indian government agents and the June 18 killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar outside a Sikh temple in Surrey city. Nijjar was a prominent leader of Khalistan Movement, seeking a sovereign Sikh state in India.
Mukhbir Singh pointed out that India has long targeted Sikhs in Canada with “espionage [and] disinformation”. He added that his organisation was aware of other current threats against Canadian Sikhs, some of whom have been told to “make changes to their pattern of living” to assure their safety.
Mukhbir Singh said he believed Nijjar’s killing was the tip of the iceberg. He called upon Canada to bring those responsible for the killing to justice, to take further steps to protect Sikhs, to review India’s diplomatic and intelligence gathering operations in the country, and to end intelligence sharing with New Delhi.
“The younger generation [of Sikhs] that grew up in Canada, they grew up hearing stories about persecution, with a fear of speaking out too much and you might get on a list or be targeted,” he said. “So to see that happening right now, in 2023, in Canada, it certainly is shocking and I hope the larger community sees that and understands how truly shocking this is,” he added.
Speaking alongside Mukhbir Singh, Stephen Brown, head of NCCM, called the killing of Nijjar “an unprecedented attack against Canadian sovereignty, full stop”. He said we’re all in this together because when a Canadian is attacked, when he or she has the audacity to speak about human rights and justice, all of us are at risk. He called for the killers of a fellow Canadian to be brought to justice.
It is to mention here that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s announcement has hit already frosty relations between Canada and India, with both countries expelling the other’s diplomats.
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