Showing posts with label Canada. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Canada. Show all posts

Tuesday, October 15, 2024

Canada, India and the Unknown Gunmen: Is India responsible for the killing of criminals in Canada?

A look at the world of politics, statecraft, diplomacy and books


The Unknown Gunmen by Col Ajay Raina is a good place to start.  There have been a spate of killings that seemingly target anti-India terrorists. In Pakistan alone several of the terrorists involved in the hijacking of the Indian Airlines flight to Kandahar have been eliminated together with terrorists belonging to the LeT and JeM, The Pakistani press has been crying itself hoarse over these executions though it has not provided any incriminating proof. Before proceeding we must look at this issue of "cross border" executions.

India has been wary of dealing with Pakistan ever since the audacious Mumbai Attacks on 26/11/2008. Obviously the teror attacks were organized by the Pakistani State and no meaningful resolution has happened. In fact the book by R V S Mani seems to imply that the Mumbai Terror Attacks were enable by the then UPA regime which colluded with Pakistan to help drive the narrative of "Saffron Terror". The Indian Army and Airforce were both ready to launch punitive strikes but the Government of Man Mohan Singh stood down. Since 2014 the policy has changes: surgical strikes and attacks on terror camps and facilities have taken place. And as the book Unknown Gunmen seems to imply, India has some ingress into opposition networks in Pakistan. It must be said that state Sovereignty casnnot be respected if a state indulges in terrorism and interferes in the internal affairs of another country. Westphalian statecraft does not apply in these circumstances. 

Justin Trudeau has made some outrageous allegations about the killing of a Khalistani terrorist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar. The Government of Canada is dependent on the support of extremist Sikh parties for survival and there are serious charges that China has helped Justin's Liberal Party win the elections. Is the Prime Minister of Canada diverting attention from China by making these allegations and this is exactly the line taken by the Ministry of External Affairs in its uncharecteristically harsh response to Canada. The fact that Nijjar may have been involved in the killing of Malik a Sikh extremist  who mended his relationship with India was ignored by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in its investigation. Gangland rivalries within Khalistani Terror groups linked to US asset Patwant Singh Pannu are being ignored  and India which has sent 28 extradiction requests for the criminals involved is being blamed by the Canadian Government. The complicity of the Canadian Government is clear from the fact that Nijjar's petition for citizenship was fast tracked in spite of serious errors in documentation. 

In the latest round of accusations against India, Canada has brought in the name of Laurence Bishnoi whos is lodged in an Indian jail. Laurence and Goldy Barar are rivals and both groups are killing rival gang members and Canada is dragging the name of India in the murky waters of inter gang rivalries and conflicts. It must be said that Lawrence Bishnoi has emerged as a cult figure after he started a crusade against the Balck Buck shooting convicts. But this does not mean that the Government of India in any manner is supporting him. Therefore the insinuation that India is operating through Lawrence Bishnoi is misplaced.

Col Ajay Raina's book is written in  free flowing journalistic manner and he seems to suggest that R  &AW has made deep inroads into terror networks in Pakistan, Dubai and Thailand. There is little evidence from intelligence sources to back up the claims and the author has relied entirely on press accounts. However it is an interesting read.