Unmasking India’s hypocrisy in Nijjar saga

In a world where diplomatic turbulences are commonplace, the recent storm brewing between India and Canada over the controversial death of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a prominent Canadian Sikh leader and proclaimed terrorist by the Indian government, is alarming. What makes this saga particularly contentious is the audacious move by India to shift the blame on Pakistan’s intelligence agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). This strategic redirection, however, isn’t merely a blame game — it’s a smokescreen designed to divert attention from unpleasant realities and self-perpetrated actions.

The bone of contention stems from a recent statement made by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, implicating India in Nijjar’s death. India’s prompt and outright denial of the allegations was followed by a tit-for-tat diplomatic escalation, leading to the suspension of high-ranking diplomats in both nations and a sudden halt to Canadian visas issued by India. In this heated circumstance, the US has assured its northern neighbour of support in the ongoing investigations.

Amidst these circumstances, Canada has also expelled the chief of India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), signaling possible involvement of the Indian intelligence and government in the whole issue. These actions, contrary to calming the situation, have only added fuel to the fire. The frustration of India was so palpable that there were threats leveled against Trudeau on a live Indian news show, going so far as to suggest potential nuclear attack on Canada. It’s painfully ironic considering the CIRUS (Canada India Reactor Utility Services), a research reactor supplied by Canada in 1954, played a significant role in kick-starting India’s nuclear programme.

Then comes the most bewildering twist in the tale: shifting blame onto Pakistan’s ISI. As per mainstream Indian media narratives, ISI is purported to be behind Nijjar’s murder. It’s laughable to think that Pakistan would have the luxury to orchestrate the murder of someone declared a terrorist by India. As per the mainstream Indian media narrative, Nijjar was a terrorist mastermind. If this were true, why did Indian authorities fail to catch him in over two decades? How did he manage to escape every time the police came knocking on his door? Nijjar’s murder is a sad case of the Indian authorities trying to cover up its own incompetence and more surprisingly why would Pakistan plot to kill someone who was already a wanted criminal in India?

India has been historically involved in fabricating evidence against Pakistan in order to shift blame away from its establishment. The most recent example of this was the false-flag operation of Pathankot attack, where India blamed Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) for being responsible for the assault on an airbase in January 2016, besides accusing Pakistani authorities of involvement in the incident. But the accusation never proved and seems more like a desperate attempt by the Indian authorities to absolve themselves of suspicions.

Interestingly, while India is accusing ISI, it conveniently overlooks the mountain of substantial proof Canada claims to have, pointing towards RAW’s involvement in the murder. This knee-jerk blaming of ISI appears to be an attempt to distract from the accusations India is grappling with. Accusing Pakistan of involvement in the murder of a Canadian-Indian citizen is like accusing your enemy of doing something bad without any evidence.

This piece isn’t about undermining one nation and glorifying the other. Instead, it throws light on the necessity to call out blatant deception and unnecessary international incriminations. It’s about refusing to accept ungrounded blame without substantial proof. Pakistan and Canada have a longstanding good relation. Now India has disturbed their relations with Canada trying to create mistrust between Pakistan and Canada as well.

It’s high time that nations start operating on truth and transparency rather than indulging in blame game. The era of “smoke and mirrors” should be left behind if we hope to foster an environment of mutual respect and peaceful coexistence. Such type of allegations may divert the attention from the scene but cannot save the BJP government in New Delhi for long.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 17^th, 2023.

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