India-Canada / S Jaishankar again cornered Canada on Nijjar's murder - 'Don't deny investigation, but give evidence'

India-Canada: Speaking on the issue of killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada, Foreign 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 Indian Government agents in the murder of Nijjar. Jaishankar made this comment in response to questions at an event titled 'How a Billion People See the World' with journalist Lionel Barber in London.

‘Give evidence, we are not refusing investigation’

Jaishankar, who arrived in London on a 5-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.' He said this. But stressed 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 terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on June 18 in British Columbia, Canada. India had declared Nijjar a terrorist in 2020.

‘Canada did not take action against the culprits’

India rejected Trudeau's allegations as 'absurd' and 'baseless'. Referring to the pro-Khalistan activities in Canada, Jaishankar said that with 'freedom of expression' comes 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.

Justin Trudeau again repeated his allegations

Last week, Trudeau had said Canada does not want a "fight" with India right now, but he reiterated his allegations, saying Ottawa wants to "work constructively" with New Delhi on this "very serious matter." Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said India has conveyed to the US its serious concerns 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.