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U.S. spy agencies provided information to Ottawa after the assassination of a Sikh separatist leader, but Canada developed the most definitive intelligence that led it to accuse India of orchestrating the plot, according to Western allied officials.
After the assassination, American intelligence agencies provided their Canadian counterparts with context that helped Canada conclude that India had been involved. However, what appears to be the “smoking gun” – intercepted communications from Indian diplomats in Canada indicating their involvement in the plot – was collected by Canadian officials, allied officials said.
While Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken has called on India to cooperate with the Canadian investigation, American officials have largely tried to avoid triggering any diplomatic reaction from India. But the revelation of US intelligence involvement risks embroiling Washington in the diplomatic battle between Canada and India at a time when it wants to develop New Delhi as a closer partner.
The United States did not learn of the plot, nor of evidence pointing to Indian involvement in it, until after agents killed the Sikh leader, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, allied officials said.
Two men shot dead Mr. Nijjar, a Canadian citizen who had advocated independence for a Sikh-majority region of India, in the Vancouver area on June 18.
Before the murder, Canadian officials had told Mr. Nijjar that he was in danger. Several friends and associates of Mr. Nijjar said they had repeatedly warned him about threats against him and warned him to avoid the temple.
After his death, U.S. officials told their Canadian counterparts that Washington had had no prior information about the plot, and that if U.S. officials had, they would have immediately informed Ottawa under the U.S. “duty to warn” doctrine. intelligence agencies, according to two allies. officials.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss what has become a diplomatic firestorm, said Canadian officials had offered a general warning to Nijjar but had not told him that he was the target of an Indian government plot.
The United States routinely and automatically shares huge amounts of intercepted communications with its closest intelligence partners, including Canada. But the contextual information about the murder it was deliberately shared as part of a package of various intelligence streams.
A White House spokesman declined to comment. U.S. officials were reluctant to discuss the assassination because, while Washington wants to help Canada, a close ally, it does not want to distance itself from India, a partner with which it hopes to expand ties as a counterweight to China’s growing influence in Asia.
The allegation has created a diplomatic rift between Ottawa and New Delhi, prompting each to expel the other’s intelligence officers and India to suspend visas for Canadians.
However, the murder and the Indian government’s alleged involvement have shocked officials in Washington. While democratic countries carry out targeted assassinations in unstable countries or regions and the spy services of more authoritarian governments (particularly Russia) orchestrate assassinations wherever they choose, it is extraordinarily rare for a democratic country to carry out such an action. lethal covert in another democracy.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Canadian officials have refused to reveal details of the intelligence Canada has gathered on India. Canadian officials say it is important not to compromise the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s murder investigation.
Allied officials declined to describe in detail the intelligence shared by the United States.
A Canadian government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive information, said the government had received intelligence from several countries.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation previously reported that the Canadian government had collected communications from Indian diplomats in Canada.