New Zealand has clarified that it is not challenging Canada’s stand on Hardeep Singh Nijjar murder investigation.
Confusion erupted after New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters interview appeared in an Indian media outlet The Indian Express. The media outlet reported that Peters was skeptical about the existence of any evidence against Nijjar’s murder investigation. The newspaper quoted Peters saying, “Where’s the evidence? Where’s the finding right here, right now? Well, there isn’t one,”
The statement was considered significant because New Zealand is a member of the Five-Eyes intelligence alliance alongside the US, Canada, UK, and Australia, that has reportedly received intelligence from Canada regarding the Nijjar case.
Peters, who is on official visit to India, was asked by the Indian Express whether Canada had shared information on the Nijjar slaying and whether New Zealand had conveyed its position to India. He replied by saying the matter was largely handled by the previous government. A new coalition government took power in New Zealand last November after elections in October.
“I wasn’t here, it was handled by the previous government,” Peters reportedly said. “But look, sometimes when you’re hearing Five Eyes information, you’re hearing it and saying nothing. It is coming past you. You don’t know the value or the quality of it, but you’re pleased to have it.”
He continued: “You don’t know whether there is going to be substantial material value or nothing. But the very, very critical information that matters. This was mainly handled by the previous government.”
Then, however, Mr. Peters added this: “As a trained lawyer, I look okay, so where’s the case? Where’s the evidence? Where’s the finding right here, right now? Well, there isn’t one,” he said.
The Globe and Mail later reported in an article that the New Zealand government, which was asked for comment, said “Wellington is not challenging Canada’s allegations.”
Asked whether Mr. Peters’s quotes were accurate, the government said it does not have a transcript. “New Zealand’s position on the allegations remains unchanged – if they are proven correct, then that would be of serious concern,” John Tulloch, senior press secretary in Peters’s office, said in an e-mailed statement.
“The minister’s point is that this is an ongoing criminal investigation. It needs to run its course before clear conclusions can be drawn.”
A senior federal official also told The Globe and Mail that New Zealand reached out to Ottawa Wednesday to say the Deputy Prime Minister’s comments were taken out of context and that the story doesn’t reflect its position. The Globe is not naming the official because they were not authorized to speak publicly about conversations with their New Zealand counterparts.
The killing of Nijjar in Surrey threw bilateral relations between India and Canada into turmoil after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated in the House of Commons on September 18 that there were “credible allegations” of a potential link between Indian agents and the murder.
