The News Freedom
New Delhi, November 10
India on Friday conveyed to the US its concerns over pro-Khalistan activities in Canada during the Fifth Annual India-U.S. 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue held in New Delhi. Minister of External Affairs, Dr S. Jaishankar, and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh led the Indian side at the ministerial dialogue talks while the American delegation was led by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin.
Providing details about the discussion on pro-Khalistani activities in Canada, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said, “We have made our position very clear to our friends and partners and I think they understand and appreciate the sense of where India comes from,”. “We have been having very consistent conversations with all our friends and partners and our position on this matter has been explained in full detail at multiple occasions,” he added.
“We have core security concerns and I am sure you are all aware of the recent video that has surfaced from one such individual – Gurpatwant Singh Pannun – which presents very serious security concerns,” Kwatra said while addressing a press conference after the ministerial dialogue concluded.
Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) leader and pro-Khalistani Gurpatwant Singh Pannun had released a threatening video asking Sikhs not to travel via Air India flights after 19 November.
Talking about India- Canda relations, US Secretary of State Blinken said, “ so on India and Canada, these are two of our closest friends and partners, and of course we want to see them resolving any differences or disputes that they have as a friend of both. We think it’s very important that India work with Canada on its investigation, and that they find a way to resolve this difference in a cooperative way. But that really does go with Canada moving its investigation forward and India working with Canada on it. And that’s something that I’ve discussed with our Indian counterparts, including today.”
Reacting to Pannun’s video, Canada Transportation Minister Pablo Rodriguez said that the government is investigating a warning in videos circulating online not to fly Air India starting November 19, “Our government takes any threat to aviation extremely seriously. We are investigating recent threats circulating online closely and with our security partners. We will do everything necessary to keep Canadians safe.” Pablo Rodriguez, wrote on social media platform X.
The Relations between India and Canada deteriorated following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s explicit allegations, accusing “agents of the Indian government” of orchestrating the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Subsequently, Canada expelled a top Indian diplomat on September 18. As a result, the Ministry of External Affairs summoned the High Commissioner of Canada to India on September 19 and was informed about the decision of the Government of India to expel a senior Canadian diplomat based in India.
The fallout was swift and significant, with India promptly asked Canada to downsize its diplomatic representation. As a result, Canada withdrew 41 of its diplomats from India on October 19. Later amid the unfolding crisis in bilateral relations, Canada’s Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly revealed ongoing communications with India’s Minister of External Affairs, Dr S Jaishankar, to resolve the issue.
Recently, India’s High Commissioner to Canada, Sanjay Kumar Verma, asked Ottawa to present compelling evidence supporting its claims regarding the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. In an exclusive interview with Canada’s The Globe and Mail, Commissioner Verma highlighted India’s dissatisfaction, stressing the absence of substantial evidence from Canada or its allies that would substantiate the involvement of Indian agents in Nijjar’s killing, which occurred in Burnaby, B.C.
During a conversation with HT Editor-in-Chief R Sukumar at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit in New Delhi on November 5, External Affairs Minister, Dr S Jaishankar, said that there is still room for diplomacy to address the diplomatic row between India and Canada over the killing of Nijjar and the two sides need to find a balance in the matter.