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New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney on Monday (March 2) advanced what both sides described as a “renewed” India-Canada strategic partnership, announcing the launch of trade negotiations and a long-term uranium supply agreement while making no explicit reference to the Nijjar case that had brought relations to the brink over two years ago.

Standing together in Hyderabad House at the conclusion of Carney’s four-day visit – the first standalone bilateral visit by a Canadian prime minister in eight years – the two leaders spoke of economic integration, energy security, defence dialogue and technology partnerships. Neither mentioned the June 2023 murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia or the allegation made later that year by then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of “credible” links between Indian agents and the killing, an allegation New Delhi rejected.

The omission was notable and stood in contrast to Ottawa’s separate written readout, issued after the meeting, which said Carney “underscored that Canada will continue to take measures to combat transnational repression”. This is the phrase Ottawa has consistently used to refer to the alleged Indian government targeting of diaspora members on Canadian soil.

The Canadian note also said the “leaders agreed to advance bilateral cooperation on security and law enforcement”, which would include “issues of mutual concern to Canada and India, such as the illegal flow of drugs, particularly fentanyl precursors, and transnational organised criminal networks”.

At a detailed post-summit briefing, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA)’s secretary (east) P. Kumaran called the allegations “baseless, politically motivated and unsupported by credible evidence despite repeated requests”.

His remarks came in response to a question about a report in the Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail on Monday, which claimed there was evidence linking officials at the Indian consulate to the Nijjar killing. The report named two Indian officials, one of whom was among the six diplomats expelled by Canada in October 2024.

While reiterating India’s rejection of the allegations, his formulation differed in tone from the sharper exchanges that characterised the diplomatic freeze in 2023 and 2024.

“We understand that the criminal investigation is proceeding as per established legal procedures,” he said, referring to the “voir dire phase”. “India has consistently maintained its commitment to the judicial process. Sensitive matters under judicial consideration are best allowed to proceed through established legal processes without public commentary.”

During the height of the crisis, New Delhi had repeatedly criticised Ottawa for failing to provide evidence to........

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