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Ahead of a sojourn by Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand to India this month, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met with her successful New York connected Monday (September 29, 2025). The sojourn is meant to assistance repair and “rebuild ties” betwixt the 2 countries that were ruptured successful 2023, but could beryllium overshadowed by the upcoming trials into the Nijjar sidesplitting successful Canada, and the Pannun assassination crippled successful the U.S.
A caller 61-page tribunal papers indicates that American authorities volition reason determination is simply a strong, provable nexus betwixt the 2 cases. India has denied targeting the men, who person been designated connected the government’s Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act panic list, and are wanted successful India.
“A bully gathering with Foreign Minister Anita Anand this greeting successful New York. The assignment of High Commissioners is invited arsenic we rebuild ties,” Mr. Jaishankar posted aft the gathering with Ms. Anand, referring to the simultaneous duty of High Commissioners successful Delhi and Ottawa successful August. “[We] discussed further steps successful that respect today. [I] look guardant to welcoming FM Anand successful India,” helium added.
A bully gathering with FM @AnitaAnandMP of Canada this greeting successful New York.
The assignment of High Commissioners is invited arsenic we rebuild ties. Discussed further steps successful that respect today.
Look guardant to welcoming FM Anand successful India.
Ms. Anand, who was successful erstwhile Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Cabinet (November 2019-March 2025) earlier this role, volition marque her archetypal sojourn to Delhi connected October 13-14, sources told The Hindu, and volition besides beryllium travelling to Singapore and China.
In an interrogation to a Canadian TV amusement connected Sunday (September 28), Ms. Anand said she would sermon the “next steps successful the diplomatic relationship” during her sojourn to India. She said meetings successful Delhi successful August betwixt Canadian National Security and Intelligence Advisor Christine Drouin, and Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs David Morrison, with India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, were meant “to guarantee [Canada and India] person a instrumentality enforcement dialog proceeding”. When asked, she said the Indian authorities was present actively collaborating successful the Nijjar investigation, but didn’t springiness details.
On Monday (September 29), the Canadian authorities designated the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, members of which are believed to person carried retired the Nijjar killing, arsenic a ”terrorist entity” liable for intimidation and unit against “specific communities” successful Canada. In 2024, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, which is investigating the killing, said they besides believed the Bishnoi pack was “connected to agents of the Government of India”. The Canadian authorities person charged 4 Indians for the sidesplitting of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was changeable dormant extracurricular a gurudwara successful the Toronto country successful June 2023, and their proceedings is expected to statesman successful 2026.
Meanwhile, successful the U.S., the authorities filed a caller acceptable of pre-trial evidentiary documents with the tribunal of the Southern District of New York. These see a fig of photographs and documents from emails and societal media messages betwixt erstwhile Research & Analysis Wing (R&AW) quality serviceman Vikas Yadav, who is successful custody successful India, and businessman Nikhil Gupta, present successful the U.S.’s custody, having been indicted successful 2024 for readying a fig of attacks connected Khalistani activists wanted successful India. The documents notation to Harjeet Nijjar and Gurpatwant Pannun, laminitis of the Sikhs for Justice separatist group, and for the archetypal clip notation to grounds of plots connected individuals successful “Nepal and Pakistan” arsenic well. It besides contains documents pertaining to Mr. Yadav’s employment with the R&AW dating backmost to 2013.
The Ministry of External Affairs declined to remark connected the 61-page ‘Motion In Limine’ filed by U.S. lawyer Jay Clayton connected September 22, which was archetypal reported by Bloomberg and The Wire.
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The papers online, which has been redacted astatine parts to support the identities of a U.S. “confidential source” (CS) and an “undercover official” (UC) secret, outlines the grounds the U.S. prosecution volition contiguous to beryllium a larger conspiracy linking the cases successful the U.S. and Canada.
“Put simply, the aforesaid grounds that proves Gupta, Yadav, and their co-conspirators planned to termination [Gurpatwant Pannun]… volition besides amusement that Gupta, Yadav, and their co-conspirators worked to termination different Sikh separatists successful Canada, including Nijjar, and to termination the people successful Nepal oregon Pakistan,” the papers says.
The U.S. Department of Justice claims that Mr. Yadav planned the killings to suppress “Sikh separatist activities”. “This motive dovetails with impervious that Yadav was an worker of the Government of India. And this motive helps explicate wherefore Gupta was acrophobic capable about, successful his words, “political things”, that helium instructed that the UC (DEA oregon Drug Enforcement Administration operative) should not termination the Victim (Pannun) astir the clip of the Indian Prime Minister’s sojourn to the United States,” the US Attorney said, referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s sojourn to Washington connected a authorities sojourn connected June 22, 2023.
After the Nijjar sidesplitting connected June 18, the documents accidental that Mr. Yadav sent Mr. Gupta a video of the sidesplitting by a WhatsApp connection from India, confirming that helium was progressive successful hiring the unidentified men responsible, and promised galore much akin “jobs”.
“This grounds places the anticipated sidesplitting of the Victim successful its existent context: arsenic 1 of a bid of murders that the conspirators planned of Sikh dissidents similar Nijjar. And due to the fact that Gupta discussed the execution of Nijjar and the planned execution of others successful Canada successful the aforesaid communications wherever helium discussed the execution of the Victim, the impervious is inextricably intertwined,” it added.
The papers besides reveals that Mr. Gupta would beryllium prosecuted for trafficking successful drugs and arms, and planetary wealth laundering and recognition paper fraud, portion Mr. Yadav offered to assistance smuggle the contraband retired of India if the sidesplitting of Pannun was carried retired successfully. He besides shared respective photographs of himself, including 1 wearing subject camouflage and posing successful beforehand of an Indian Air Force plane, which the Department of Justice says it plans to usage successful the case.
