London:
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Wednesday that India is not ruling out an investigation but asked Canada to provide evidence to support its allegations about the involvement of Indian government agents in the killing of a Khalistani terrorist in that country.
Mr Jaishankar made the comments in response to questions during a conversation with veteran journalist Lionel Barber, titled ‘How a Billion People See the World’ here.
“If you have any reason to make such an allegation, please share the evidence as we are not ruling out an investigation…,” said Mr Jaishankar, who is here on a five-day official visit to Britain , while responding to a question.
He emphasized that Canada has not shared any evidence with India to support its claim.
Ties between India and Canada came under severe strain following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegations in September of a “potential” involvement of Indian agents in the June 18 killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia . India had classified Nijjar as a terrorist in 2020.
India has dismissed Trudeau’s allegations as ‘absurd’ and ‘motivated’.
Mr. Jaishankar said that freedom of speech and expression carries with it a certain responsibility and that abusing those freedoms and tolerating that abuse for political purposes would be very wrong, referring to the pro-Khalistani activities in Canada.
Recalling the attacks on the High Commission of India in Canada, or the smoke bomb attacks on the High Commission and the Consulate General, he said Indian diplomats were intimidated in public without Canadian authorities taking action against the perpetrators.
Last week, Prime Minister Trudeau underlined that a “fight” with India was not something Canada wanted to engage in now, but reiterated his allegations and said Ottawa wants to work “constructively” with New Delhi on this “very serious matter.”
Foreign Minister Vinay Kwatra said India has expressed serious concerns to the US side over the increasing activities of pro-Khalistani elements in Canada.
“On Canada, we have had very consistent conversations with all our friends and partners. Our position on this issue has been stated and explained in full detail several times,” Mr Kwatra said recently in New Delhi.
Days after Trudeau’s allegations in September, India temporarily suspended issuing visas to Canadian citizens and asked Ottawa to reduce its diplomatic presence in the country to ensure equality.
India resumed some visa services in Canada last month, more than a month after they were suspended.
On China, Mr Jaishankar said the deadly clash of 2020 has affected the relationship between the two countries.
He said China has not adhered to the agreement not to gather troops at the Line of Actual Control, claiming that such acts of not following pacts have consequences in terms of credibility.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)