Why US, UK & Canada's Allies Have Not Condemned India On Khalistani Terrorist's Killing?

Despite Canada's membership in the 'Five Eyes' intelligence-sharing alliance with countries like the US, UK, Australia, and New Zealand, Ottawa has failed to rally support from its allies in the manner it had hoped to target India over the killing of Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

The US, Australia, and the UK have expressed it deep concern over the development. Also, a report in the Washington Post claimed that the Trudeau administration had sought public condemnation from the US and its other allies before the G20 Summit, which was held recently in Delhi. However, Canada's allies have not condemned India on the issue.

This leads to a question as to why Canada's allies have not condemned India? The first and foremost reason given by experts is that countries such as the US and Australia want India to counter China.

"India is important in Western calculations for balancing China, and Canada is not," Aljazeera quoted Stephanie Carvin, a professor of international relations at Ottawa's Carleton University, as saying.

"This really does put Canada offside among all other Western countries," she said.

Interestingly, Britain has announced that it will continue trade talks with New Delhi despite a significant escalation in tensions between Canada and India.

Britain Continues With Trade Deal
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's spokesperson has said that the UK was in touch with Ottawa while stating that it will not have an impact on the trade talks between New Delhi and Britain.

"Work on the trade negotiations will continue as before. The Canadian authorities will now conduct their work and I'm not going to preempt them," the news agency quoted a spokesperson as saying.

He also said that "these are negotiations about a trade deal and we are not looking to conflate with other issues."

There have been behind-the-scene discussions among the members in connection with the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was the chief of the banned Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) and one of India's most-wanted terrorists who carried a cash reward of Rs 10 lakh on his head.

He was shot dead by two unidentified gunmen outside a gurdwara in Surrey in the western Canadian province of British Columbia in June.

India, A Fast Growing Economy
Experts point out that the other factor why the West has not condemned India is because it is a growing economy. India is predicted to become the world's third-largest economy by 2030, overtaking Japan and Germany.

India has the world's largest military with over 1.4 billion population. These factors have made the US, and other countries not to criticise India over the issue. "I think Australia, US and UK did about what was expected," Janice Stein, a political scientist at the Munk School of Global Affairs in Toronto, told the Qatari state-owned Arabic-language international news television network.

A senior fellow at the New Delhi-based Centre for Policy Research Sushant Singh states, "As long as the West needs India to counter China, it is likely to look away."

A Delicate Situation For Canada's Allies
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made an explosive statement on Monday accusing an Indian government agency of killing Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. He also expelled an Indian diplomat identified as Pavan Kumar Rai, the head of India's foreign intelligence agency in Canada. In retaliation, New Delhi kicked out Canada's top diplomat from India, further escalating tension between the two countries.

As the allies did not condemn India, the Canadian PM toned down his words and said that Ottawa was not trying to provoke New Delhi.

"PM tempers criticism as allies decline to condemn India over slain Sikh leader," the front-page headline on Wednesday in Canada's The Globe and Mail newspaper read.

Chietigj Bajpaee, an India expert at the Chatham House think tank in London, remarked that the UK is in a delicate position, balancing support for Canada while avoiding upsetting India.

"Short of there being any definitive evidence of India's involvement, I think the UK response is likely to remain muted," he added. A free trade deal would be a "major political win" for both India and Britain, Bajpaee states.

However, a US official, speaking anonymously on Tuesday, mentioned that Trudeau's willingness to express his stance was perceived by the White House as a sign of the Canadian leader's confidence in the findings.

Can Canada Provide Evidence To Prove Its Claims?
Sanjay Kapoor, the editor of Hardnews magazine, stated to Al Jazeera that this is a "delicate situation" for India.

"Canada is part of the Five Eyes alliance, and they share intelligence among themselves. Before Trudeau made his remarks public, before he voiced his allegations in parliament, he had shared the intelligence he possessed with the other member countries," Kapoor explained.

"However, they didn't take significant action. They were cautious not to disrupt India's strategic position, especially during the G20 summit, where India was being presented by the West as a rising power and a counterpoint to China."

Nonetheless, Canada is yet to share strong evidence to prove its allegations against India and till it provides it, Ottawa is unlikely to garner support from its allies.