Australia appears to have veered around to a view that is quite similar to the Canadian stand soon after the raging controversy broke out over the alleged killing of a Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. The Australian domestic intelligence chief Mike Burgess said in a recent interview to Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that he had “no reason to dispute” claims of possible link between the Indian government and Nijjar’s killing.
According to an October 18 ABC report, Burgess said he would have “no reason to dispute what the Canadian government has said in this matter”. For the record, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in September that his government possessed “credible allegations of a potential link between Indian government agents and Nijjar’s killing.
This was strongly refuted and rejected by New Delhi which went to the extent of expelling a Canadian diplomat. In response, the Canadian authorities expelled an Indian diplomat who originally belonged to the 1997 batch of the Punjab cadre.
Burgess’s reactions came on the sidelines of a public gathering of Five Eyes intelligence partners, of which Australia and Canada are both members, in California. Burgess was evasive when asked whether the Nijjar issue was discussed behind closed doors at this meeting.
Citing a “national security source”, ABC said that Burgess was “briefed on the matter before last month’s G20 summit in New Delhi, where Trudeau raised his concerns directly with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi”.
While Australian Sikh leaders have gone along with Canadian accusations, saying that Nijjar’s killing could potentially cause violent events in “their communities”, Burgess told ABC “Whether or not it will happen here, I wouldn’t publicly speculate, I don’t think that’s appropriate”.
He said, “I can assure you that when we find governments interfering in our country, or planning to interfere in our country, we will deal with them effectively”.
He added that “there was a difference between community tensions, like those which have flared over a vote held as part of the Khalistan movement, and foreign interference on the part of the Indian government”, according to the ABC news report.
