The News Freedom
New Delhi, January 2
Minister of External Affairs, Dr. S. Jaishankar, on Tuesday accused Canada of providing “space” to pro-Khalistan separatists, saying their activities were damaging bilateral relations and not in either country’s best interests. “The issue at heart is the fact that in Canadian politics, these Khalistani forces have been given a lot of space,” Jaishankar said in an exclusive interview with ANI, shared on the social media platform X formerly known as Twitter. “They are allowed to indulge in activities which I think are damaging to the relationship, clearly not in India’s interest, but I would argue are not in Canada’s interest either,” he said.
Jaishankar’s comments, the strongest yet on the issue from the Indian government, came amid recent tensions between the two countries over Khalistani demonstrations in Canada.
Talking about Pakistan with ANI, Jaishankar dismissed what he called Islamabad’s “decades-long” strategy of using cross-border terrorism to pressure India into talks. “What Pakistan was trying to do was really to use cross-border terrorism to bring India to the table,” he said. “That, in essence, was its core policy. We have made that irrelevant by not playing that game now. It’s not a case that we won’t deal with a neighbour, after all, a neighbour is a neighbour, but it is that we will not deal on the basis of terms that they set where the practice of terrorism is deemed as legitimate and effective.”
Addressing about his his recent visit to Russia, Jaishankar brushed off concerns, attributing them to “mind games” played by others. “If people can’t read me, that means my mind games are working,” he quipped. “I see no reason we should take anything other than at face value because we have always maintained that the Russia relationship is a very important one,” he added.
He emphasized India’s commitment to “smart diplomacy” aimed at maximizing friendships and minimizing adversaries.
“A country which has maximum friends and minimum adversaries is obviously one with smart diplomacy,” he said. “Why would a country restrict its friends? Why would it choose to unless the interest compelled it to do that? I am focusing on how to expand my relationships.”