Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Syrus Qazi responded to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s recent claims of Indian government involvement in the killing of a Sikh leader.
During a media briefing at the Pakistan mission in the United Nations, Qazi expressed that Pakistan was not surprised by Trudeau’s revelations.
Qazi is accompanying caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar on a five-day visit to the United States for the 78th UNGA session.
“India’s terrorism in Canada is not a matter of surprise for Pakistan,” he remarked during the briefing
He cited Pakistan’s past actions, particularly the arrest of Indian naval officer Kulbhushan Yadav, an operative of the Indian Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), in Balochistan in March 2016. Yadav was subsequently sentenced to death after being found guilty of espionage and involvement in terror activities aimed at destabilizing Pakistan.
Trudeau made these startling allegations during a speech at an emergency session of the Canadian House of Commons. He claimed that Canadian security agencies had been investigating credible allegations of a potential link between the Indian government and the killing of Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Reacting to Canada’s revelations, Qazi commented, “What happened in Canada did not surprise us,” suggesting that Pakistan perceived some truth in the allegations put forth by the Canadian Prime Minister.
He further pointed out India’s involvement in state terrorism in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and reiterated that Pakistan had firsthand knowledge of Indian activities.
