In a series of hard-hitting statements against Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Liberal Party, a former minister of a province in the country has said the allegations on India's involvement in the killing of the Khalistani terrorist were made "ahead of time and without clear facts" and that the PM is using a serious crime to get out of the "political mud" he is in
Speaking exclusively to NDTV, Kash Heed - who is a Richmond City Councillor, a former minister, member of legislative assembly and solicitor general of British Columbia, as well as a former police chief - also spoke against using such killings for political grandstanding.
To a question on India asking Canada for evidence in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar and providing its own evidence against terrorists operating out of Canadian soil, Mr Heed said, "We have been raising the issue of groups involved in it to make money, whether it is for illicit activities such as terrorism or things like that across Canada. You have to remember, given the political situation that we are in right now, you have a governing party of Canada that's in a crisis right now."
"Whether it's having to deal with this situation, which they went out, in my opinion, ahead of time on without the clear facts, or whether they are dealing with the speaker of the House that has to resign because of recognising people that fought for the Nazis," he said.
"He (Trudeau) is in turmoil right now, he is looking for some kind of out. This is not the out that he should be utilising, trying to bring back his political credibility, because what has happened is that political credibility is waning at a very rapid pace," the former minister added.
'Wrong Political Calculation'
Asked whether Mr Trudeau was making the allegations on India's involvement in Nijjar's Killing because of his minority government's dependence on Jagmeet Singh's New Democratic Party, Mr Heed said, "I believe it is a domestic political calculation, I believe it is the wrong political calculation, because you can't pull the wool over the elector in Canada. This prime minister, his party is in significant trouble right now, but you cannot use a very serious crime like this to try and get out of the political mud you're in right now."
"I have total disdain for politicians that are using the death of someone for their own benefit," he remarked.
Investigation, Interference
On whether the investigation into the death of Nijjar, who was shot dead outside a gurudwara in Surrey, British Columbia, in June, was botched from the beginning, Mr Heed said he does not think the investigators are doing anything wrong and that the politicians were speaking out of line.
"That's caused a lot of confusion, internationally, as to what is taking place. The investigators are investigating this as a normal homicide. We are used to doing such types of investigation because it has been so prevalent here in British Columbia, especially in Surrey. They are trying to put together the case that has sufficient evidence, hopefully to lead to charges against individuals," he said.
Pointing to the role of politicians, the city councillor said, "But when we have this political interference that's taking place where you've got politicians grandstanding on an issue which will not necessarily be true, or the evidence will lead in that direction, is the complicated matter that we are facing right now."
Conspiracy Theories?
To a question on Mr Trudeau's allegations and the evidence backing it up, Mr Heed said, "You have to question what that evidence is. Whether it is substantial evidence that can lead to accusations that have been made by the head of our state, the Prime Minister of Canada, or whether it's just intelligence, rhetoric, information that comes in."
Speaking from his experience as part of the police force, Mr Heed said that when you are dealing with such high-profile killings, you get a lot of information that comes in.
"That's not necessarily true. You've got conspiracy theories that are developed, you've got those that need to be looked at. You've got significant evidence that you are dealing with. You need to take an inductive approach here and that the evidence leads to whatever the accusations or charges could be. And, if others are involved through some sort of conspiracy, let's look at that," he said.
The former police chief said the Nijjar investigation is in its infancy stages and the police officers should be allowed to do their job, without political rhetoric.
Web Of Khalistani Terror
Kash Heed said there are organised crime groups and terrorist groups operating in Canada and it has been a long-standing issue. To a question on a web of Khalistani terror in the country, he said it is not limited to South Asian groups, but other ethnic groups as well.
"It's prevalent, whether you want to identify it as a Khalistani group or as other Asian-based organised groups, it's quite prevalent in Canada. They are making a lot of money, and it's mainly because of the sale of drugs and weapons," he said.
On dossiers shared by India on Khalistani terrorists and the action taken by Canada so far, Mr Heed said, "I have to question that too...If you're ignoring the fact that this is taking place on our sovereign soil, and now all of a sudden you are bringing this up for your own political gain, that's very, very questionable. These types of activities have been taking place in Canada and they are not comprehensively dealt with by our political systems and policy makers."
