Justin Trudeau says Canada not looking to escalate situation with India
Canada is not looking to escalate situation with India and will continue to engage ‘responsibly and constructively with New Delhi’, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau was quoted by Reuters as saying on Tuesday.
Trudeau’s remark comes amid diplomatic row with New Delhi which kickstarted after Ottawa expelled an Indian diplomat over Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s killing in June. Trudeau had claimed “credible allegations of a potential link” between Indian government agents and Nijjar’s killing in Surrey on June 18.
The Canadian prime minister’s remark comes on the day India asked Canada to withdraw several dozen diplomats from its missions in the country. Last month, the external affairs ministry had announced that the Canadian government was informed about the need for “parity in strength and rank equivalence” in mutual diplomatic presence.
On Sunday, external affairs minister S Jaishankar while interacting with journalists in the US had referred to Canada, saying it is necessary to call out things like violence, threats and intimidation against Indian diplomats and missions and wondered if this had happened to any other country would the world have taken it with equanimity.
Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, center, walks past India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi(AP file)
“…Our point is that there is today a climate of violence, an atmosphere of intimidation…Just think about it. We have had smoke bombs thrown at the mission. We have had our consulates…violence in front of them. Individuals have been targeted and intimidated. There are posters put up about people,”, he said.
When asked about Trudeau’s allegations, the external affairs minister replied,“The Canadians have made some allegations. We have pointed out to them that this is not the government of India’s policy and if they are prepared to share with us specifics and anything relevant, we are also open to looking at it. So in that sense, that’s where the matter stands”.
“But what we do not want to see is an incident treated in isolation because then that somewhere does not convey the right picture”, Jaishankar added.
