In the context of the killing of a Khalistani separatist in Canada, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Wednesday that India is not refusing any investigation. Along with this, he asked him to provide evidence on Canada’s allegations of involvement of an Indian government agent in the murder of a Khalistani separatist. Jaishankar made this comment in response to questions at a program organized here with veteran journalist Lionel Barber titled ‘How a billion people see the world’. Jaishankar, who is here on a five-day official visit to Britain, while replying to a question, said, if you have any reason to make such an allegation then please share the evidence because we are not refusing the investigation. Emphasized that Canada has not shared any evidence with India to support its allegation.
Relations between India and Canada became strained following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegations in September regarding the “possible” involvement of an Indian agent in the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on June 18 in British Columbia, Canada. India had declared Nijjar a terrorist in 2020. India rejected Trudeau’s allegations as “absurd” and “baseless”. Referring to the pro-Khalistan activities in Canada, Jaishankar said that freedom of speech and expression comes with a certain responsibility and it would be very wrong to misuse those freedoms and tolerate that misuse for political purposes.
He referred to the attack on the Indian High Commission in Canada or bomb attacks on the High Commission and Consulate General and said Indian diplomats were publicly intimidated while Canadian authorities took no action against the culprits. Last week, Prime Minister Trudeau underlined that Canada did not want a “fight” with India right now, but reiterated his allegations and said Ottawa would work “constructively” with New Delhi on this “very serious matter.” Wants to work from.
Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said that India has conveyed its serious concerns to the American side over the increasing activities of Khalistani supporters in Canada. Kwatra said in New Delhi recently, as far as Canada is concerned, we are in constant dialogue with all our friends and partners. We have stated and explained our position on this matter in detail on several occasions.