Jaishankar reveals why Khalistan issue is back, 'Canada harbouring terrorists due to...'

As India-Canada diplomatic row continues to intensify, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar said that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made some serious allegations against India over the assassination of pro-Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. While taking part in an interactive session at the Hudson Institute in the United States, the veteran diplomat emphasised that the impact of the allegations is so severe that some of the Indian diplomats feel unsafe to go to consulates in Canada, due to the escalating tension. India-Canada relations nose-dives after the Canadian Prime Minister alleged that Canada has “credible information” that agents of the Indian government were involved in the death of the convicted extremist.   

“The Canadian PM made some allegations initially privately, later publicly. Our response is that the allegations levelled against us are false. If the government (Canada) has anything, we are open to looking into it,” the External Affairs Minister said on Friday. He emphasised that the rise of Khalistani extremism in Canada has been one of the major issues between Ottawa and New Delhi for years. He even alluded to the fact that the “political compulsions” in Canada have given extremism an “operating space in the country”. "This has been an issue of great, friction for many years with Canada. But in the last few years, it has come back, very much into play, because of what we consider to be a very permissive Canadian attitude towards terrorists, extremist people who openly advocate violence. And they have been given operating space in Canada because of the compulsions of Canadian politics,” he added. 

#WATCH | Washington, DC: On India- Canada row, EAM Dr S Jaishankar says, "The Canadian PM made some allegations initially privately, and then publicly. And, our, response to him, both in private and public, what he was alleging was not consistent with our policy. And that if he… pic.twitter.com/SmGxEErAk0

— ANI (@ANI) September 29, 2023

Did Jaishankar address the Canada issue with the US?

When asked if he has discussed the ongoing issue with his American counterpart Antony Blinken, Jaishankar gave an affirmative response. “I spoke to NSA Jake Sullivan and the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken about Canada. They shared the United States’ views and assessments on the whole situation, he said. “I think hopefully we both came out of those meetings towards better and forward,” he added.

The EAM's remarks came a day after the Canadian PM said that he wants to continue to have “close ties” with India given its prominence in the world order as a growing economic power. “India is a growing economic power and important geopolitical player. And as we presented with our Indo-Pacific strategy, just last year, we’re very serious about building closer ties with India,” the Canadian Prime Minister said at a press conference in Montreal on Thursday, The National Post reported.