Election 2023: New Zealand’s ‘serious concern’ at allegation Indian Government assassinated Canadian activist

Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta said if true the allegations would be of serious concern. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta said that it would be of “serious concern” if the Indian Government were responsible for the alleged assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh separatist leader and Canadian citizen, which India strenuously denied.

The Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told Canada’s Parliament yesterday that Canada’s security agencies had established “credible allegations” that “agents of the Indian government” had been behind the shooting in Canada in June.

If proved correct, the claim would be a shocking violation of international norms and Canada’s sovereignty.

Mahuta to told the Herald she was “aware of the ongoing investigation into the death of Mr Nijar and Prime Minister Trudeau’s comments in Parliament overnight.

“If those claims were proven true, that would be of serious concern. I won’t comment further on what is an ongoing criminal investigation in Canada,” she said.

Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivers a statement in the House of Commons. Photo / AP

Mahuta is in the United States this week, representing New Zealand at the United Nations General Assembly, an engagement usually undertaken by the prime minister but scuppered this year because of the election. She will then journey to Washington DC.

India has rejected the allegations. In a statement reported by the New York Times, the Indian Foreign Ministry rejected “any attempts to connect the government of India” to Nijjar’s killing and accused Canada of sheltering “extremists and terrorists” who “continue to threaten India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”.

The allegation comes at an awkward time for New Zealand and many other like-minded countries are trying to build a stronger relationship with India to balance an increasingly difficult relationship with China.

Mahuta’s leader, Labour’s Chris Hipkins, has promised to visit India within 100 days of forming a government if he wins the next election. His challenger, Christopher Luxon has said he would visit India within a year of taking office.

Both sides want to grow New Zealand’s meagre trade with India to diversify New Zealand’s exports as a hedge against a downturn in China. Two-way trade with India was worth $2.74 billion in 2017 and is worth $2.62b now. Exports have dramatically fallen, having been worth $1.88b in 2017 compared with $1.07b now. Two-way trade with China is worth $40.3b by comparison.

Across the ditch, Australia is walking a similar tightrope. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told a reporter to “chill out” when asked whether he regretted comparing Narendra Modi to Bruce Sprinsteen by calling him “the boss” in a much-hyped visit earlier this year.

But a spokesperson for the Foreign Affairs Minister, Penny Wong told The Guardian that Australia was “closely engaged with partners” regarding the developments and had “conveyed our concerns at senior levels to India.

“Australia is deeply concerned by these allegations and notes ongoing investigations into this matter,” the spokesperson said in the statement.

A spokesperson for the United States State Department told reporters yesterday it had been in “close contact with our Canadian colleagues about this. We’re quite concerned about the allegations.

“We think it’s important there is a full and open investigation and we would urge the Indian Government to co-operate with that investigation,” the spokesperson said.

Thomas Coughlan is Deputy Political Editor and covers politics from Parliament. He has worked for the Herald since 2021 and has worked in the press gallery since 2018.