SOURCE: AFI
In recent weeks, Indian and Canadian security officials and diplomats have reportedly engaged in multiple secret meetings to discuss the killing of Khalistani activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. These discussions reflect ongoing efforts to address the complex and sensitive nature of Nijjar’s death, which has implications for both nations’ security and diplomatic relations.
According to sources cited by the Hindustan Times, David Vigneault, the former director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), met with a senior Indian intelligence official twice in a third country following India’s Lok Sabha elections. Additionally, India’s High Commissioner to Canada, Sanjay Kumar Verma, has met with Canada’s National Security and Intelligence Advisor, Nathalie G. Drouin, four times this year. These meetings have reportedly been amicable, focusing on the circumstances surrounding Nijjar’s killing in Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18, 2022.
The assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar has been a point of contention between Canada and India. In September 2023, Canada linked Indian agents to Nijjar’s murder, a claim that New Delhi dismissed as “absurd.” While the CSIS confirmed Vigneault’s travels to India, they declined to provide specific details about recent meetings, underscoring the sensitive nature of these discussions.