NEW DELHI: Canada on Thursday assured that the Khalistani terrorist Jaspal Atwal “is not part of the official delegation to the PM’s visit to India, nor was he invited by the Prime Minister’s Office.”
Describing the Khalistani terrorist as an “individual”, the Canadian Prime Minister's Office (PMO), in a statement, said, “It's important to be clear that this individual is not part of the official delegation to the PM’s visit to India, nor was he invited by the Prime Minister’s Office. As is the case with international trips, individuals sometimes travel on their own to the location of the visit.”
In a recently released photo, Atwal was seen posing along with Canadian Prime Minister’s wife Sophie Trudeau at an event in Mumbai on February 20, during the Canadian first family's visit to India.
Atwal has also been photographed with the Canadian Minister of Infrastructure and Communities Amarjeet Sohi in Mumbai on February 20.
“This individual should never have been invited to any event on the program, and his invitation has been rescinded. We are in the process of looking into how this occurred,” the statement added.
Canadian Prime Minister, who is currently on a week-long State visit to India, has been criticised for being soft on pro-Khalistan groups based in Canada.