Pakistan not surprised by Canada's allegations against India: Syrus Qazi
Pakistan
The Canadian government suspects the Modi government could be behind Hardeep Singh's murder
NEW YORK (Web Desk) - Pakistan isn't surprised by the allegations Canada levelled against the Indian government over the killing of a Sikh leader, Foreign Secretary Syrus Qazi said on Wednesday.
During a media briefing at the sidelines of the 78th UNGA session in New York, he said India's terrorism in Canada was not a matter of surprise for Pakistan.
The Pakistani diplomat's statement comes after Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the Indian government could be "involved" in the killing of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia in June this year.
Qazi said Pakistan didn't find anything unusual in the Canadian PM's allegations as Pakistan had arrested a serving Indian naval officer Kulbhushan Yadav, an operative of India's Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) from Balochistan in March 2016.
The Indian spy was later sentenced to death after he was found guilty of espionage and terror activities to destabilise Pakistan.
Read more: India-Canada relations: how could trade be affected as tensions rise?
Truth will come out: Hardeep's son
The son of a Sikh leader killed earlier this year says he feels a sense of relief after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused the Indian government on Monday of being involved in the assassination.
Balraj Sing Nijjar, 21, was speaking publicly for the first time since the shooting dead of his father Hardeep, 45, on June 18, shortly after evening prayers at the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia.
Trudeau said the House of Commons that intelligence reports had found credible links between the Indian government agents and the killing, though no one has been charged yet.
The Indian government had previously offered a reward for Hardeep’s arrest, accusing the gurdwara president of heading a violent separatist movement for an independent Sikh state called Khalistan.
Balraj, the elder of Hardeep’s two sons, said his family and close friends always suspected the Indian government was behind his father’s brazen killing.
"It was just a matter of time when the truth would come out, so when I heard that yesterday there was a sense of relief, you know its funny coming to the public eye that the Indian government is involved," Balraj told Reuters.
-- Additional input from Reuters
