According to a newly released video documentary, the British GCHQ spies eavesdropped on the Indian government’s communications and reported the involvement of these communications in the assassination plots of Nijjar, among others, to the Canadians under the ‘Five Eyes’ Intelligence Sharing Agreement.
UK Shared Key Intelligence With Canada In Khalistani Terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar Murder Case
The British government provided a summary of the intercepted communication to Ottawa at the end of July 2023 which referred to the talking of the suspected operatives about three targets Nijjar, Avtar Singh Khanda, and Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. The UK demanded that the file should be delivered in person, should not be stored on any electronic system, and should be viewed only by a limited number of Canadian officials who had been approved beforehand.
Canadian Officials Responding To This
Canadian security forces are reportedly the ones who got the UK intelligence validated thanks to their own communication interception. Thenceforth, they came to the conclusion that the Indian government had a hand in the murder of the Sikh rights campaigner Nijjar, who was labelled a terrorist by India and was shot in June 2023, not far from Vancouver. His assassination created a diplomatic mess, Canada went public with its accusations against India, reduced the number of its diplomats, and demanded more openness, India outright rejected the charges, calling them ‘ridiculous’ and politically driven. Former Prime Minister Of Canada denied all the allegations and slams them as ‘absurd’.
The transaction of classified intelligence between the countries involved highlights the case’s high stakes character and the intricacies of foreign policy, sovereignty, and security of the diaspora. It brings up issues of the sharing of intelligence among the allies, the treatment of evidence during diplomatic disputes, and the consequences for the relations between the countries involved. The allegations in India’s case, besides being a threat to its reputation, also mean that India would have to respond by resorting to diplomatic means.
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