India, Canada vow to fight terror together
Sikh insurgent groups named along with IS, Lashkar, Jaish
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday spoke of the primacy of India’s sovereignty, unity and integrity after a two-hour meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in which the countries named Sikh insurgent groups Babbar Khalsa International and Sikh Youth Federation along with Islamic State, al Qaeda and Pakistan-based outfits such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed.
India and Canada signed six pacts to step up their ties in various spheres on a day Modi greeted Trudeau with a hug — and subsequently delivered a pointed message at the perceived soft approach of the Canadian government towards the Khalistan issue. With Trudeau at his side, Modi said in a media statement delivered in Hindi: “There should be no place for those who misuse religion for political goals. Challenges to the sovereignty, unity and integrity of our nations cannot be tolerated.”
That remark was seen as a statement directed at the Canadian leadership and the Liberal Party government that Trudeau heads, and which has often been accused of pandering to Sikh separatists. The issue has been a major and recurring irritant in the relationship between the two countries of late and has overshadowed Trudeau’s first state visit to India.
India and Canada adopted a Framework for Cooperation on Countering Terrorism and Violent Extremism, which national security advisor Ajit Doval and his Canadian counterpart Daniel Jean were tasked to work on. In a first-of- its-kind statement, two sides said they are “committed to work together to neutralise the threats emanating from terrorist groups such as Al Qaida, ISIS, the Haqqani Network, Lashkar e-Toiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Babbar Khalsa International, and the International Sikh Youth Federation.”
For New Delhi, the clubbing of banned Sikh insurgent groups with global terrorist outfits, including ones based out of Pakistan that target India, is a significant achievement.
The two sides decided to further develop exchanges and facilitate “effective cooperation in the fields of security, finance, justice, and law enforcement, including, where appropriate, at the operational level,” as per the framework agreement.
The joint statement after the meeting also found enough mention of terrorism and “emphasised that no country should allow its territory to be used for terrorist and violent extremist activities”.
A ministry official said that while Khalistan had not been referred in any of the statements issued after the meeting, India’s concern found explicit expression in the naming of these banned groups. The issue of proKhalistan activism in Canada, often due to the soft approach of local politicians including some in Trudeau’s government, was a focus of the discussions between the two prime ministers, another Indian official said.
“First of all, we agreed on strengthening our security cooperation. Terrorism and separatism are dangers to democratic, pluralistic societies like India and Canada. It is important for us to come together to counter such forces,” Modi said.
TORONTO: Canada’s spy agency had been warned about the repercussions of convicted Khalistani terrorist Jaspal Atwal attending events with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on his tour to India, Canadian media reported on Friday.
Trudeau’s first bilateral visit to India was hit by a controversy over the dinner invitation to Atwal by the Canadian High Commissioner in New Delhi.
Atwal had been convicted of shooting at visiting Punjab cabinet minister Malkiat Singh Sidhu on Vancouver Island in 1986.
High Commissioner Nadir Patel cancelled Atwal’s invite for the dinner, hosted on Thursday night for Trudeau, while the ministry of external affairs (MEA) said it will “ascertain” how Atwal entered India.
The informant, who asked not to be identified for fear of retaliation, confirmed speaking to an agent from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) on February 17, hoping to alert the Canadian government to Atwal’s criminal history.
The person said to the CSIS agent that “this is an embarrassment for the prime minister and CSIS should send a note to the prime minister’s office. And they sent a note”.
The the Canadian Security Intelligence Service did not respond to requests for comment, Postmedia reported.
A separate source told Postmedia that some members of the Punjabi-language media in Surrey sent news reports about Atwal’s history to the Canadian High Commission in New Delhi on February 20.
The source said it was widely known that Atwal, a former member of the terrorist International Sikh Youth Federation, was going to India to attend some of the events with Prime Minister Trudeau and the Canadian delegation.
Despite the warnings, Atwal attended a reception on February 21 in Mumbai where he was photographed with Trudeau’s wife Sophie Gregoire and infrastructure minister Amarjeet Sohi.
The outcome has embarrassed Trudeau, who had made efforts in India to insist Canada is not soft on Sikh separatism and believes in a united India, the Vancouver Sun said.
Atwal was also once accused of assaulting Indian-origin former British Columbia premier Ujjal Dosanjh.
Dosanjh said the Canadian government demonstrated a lack of concern by inviting the man – convicted of attempted murder in another case.
Dosanjh, also a one-time federal Liberal cabinet minister, says he was taken aback when he found out that Atwal was invited to a dinner reception with the prime minister after attending another event with the Trudeau family earlier this week, the Globe and Mail reported.
He said Atwal attacked him with an iron bar in 1985 over his opposition to Sikh extremism. The assault left Dosanjh with 80 stitches and a broken hand, but Atwal was acquitted of the crime.
“It left me speechless about the lack of preparation or the depth of unpreparedness with which Mr Trudeau’s trip went through,” he said.
HIGH COMMISSIONER CANCELLED INVITE TO ATWAL FOR TRUDEAU DINNER; MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS SAYS IT WILL ASCERTAIN HOW HE ENTERED INDIA