Voice 9, International Desk: According to External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar's account of his talks with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, the government is having to inform U.S. officials’ perceptions of Canada’s relationship to separatism. He said that the minister's assessment of Canada's "permissiveness" toward terrorism and violence "astonished" many Americans.
Last week, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged that
the Indian government was involved in the killing of Khalistani terrorist
Hardeep Singh Nijjar. However, India has outrightly rejected the claims,
calling them ‘absurd’ and 'motivated'.
Addressing a
press conference in Washington, DC, on Friday, Jaishankar said, “I saw what the
Americans have said, and hopefully, the Americans have seen what I have said. I
think both of us have articulated our respective views, so I really don’t know,
beyond that, what else I can add”.
Jaishankar said, “When Americans look at Canada, they see
something; when we in India look at Canada, we see something else, and that’s a
part of the problem, so it’s very important that we talk it out with the
Americans. After all, they are very close to India; they are good friends of
ours, so it’s important they have our point of view on the matter as well.”
He added, “What we have taken
is a very reasonable stance... When was the last time that any of our missions
was intimidated to the point where it could not continue with its normal
functioning? If someone says this could happen in a G7 country, in a
Commonwealth country, it gives you a lot to think about”.
“No
incident is isolated, and no incident is the totality. There is a context for
everything, and there are multiple problems out there, so in the case of
individual cases, I guess we will have to see. The concerned governments will
have to talk with each other and see how they take it forward. But there is a
larger issue, and I think the larger issue should be flagged. I think the
larger issue is the permissiveness that I have flagged,” Jaishankar said.
