‘Continue to urge India to cooperate in Canada probe’: Ahead of Jaishankar-Blinken meet, US says stand ‘made clear’

Miller was answering queries on the Jaishankar-Blinken meet scheduled at the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the State Department on Thursday afternoon which is about midnight in Indian local time.

The two top diplomats however are not expected to take any questions from media but are likely to pose for pictures together.

While the meeting was scheduled way before the diplomatic rumpus between India and Canada started, the US has been urging the former to cooperate in the Canadian investigation into the killing of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia.

A standoff between India and Canada ensued after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged a “potential link” between the Indian government and the killing of a pro-Khalistan leader in Canada earlier this year. This was followed by the expulsion of a senior Indian diplomat in Canada. Rejecting the allegations as “absurd” and “motivated”. India, in a tit-for-tat action, expelled a senior Canadian diplomat in Delhi. At the same time, it has opened a window for cooperation, saying if any specific information is provided, New Delhi will be willing to look into it.

Trudeau also said he had taken up the issue with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit for the G20 Leaders’ Summit on September 9-10. At their bilateral meeting in New Delhi, Modi had raised the concerns about pro-Khalistan elements in Canada.

US had raised issue with PM Modi AT G20 summit: FT

According to a report by The Financial Times, US President Joe Biden and other Western leaders had expressed concern to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about Canada’s claims that agents linked to New Delhi were involved in Nijjar’s murder in Vancouver when they met him at the G20 Summit earlier this month.

Several members of the Five Eyes — an intelligence-sharing network that includes the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand — raised the issue, the FT report said.

“One said Biden felt it was important to address the issue directly with his Indian counterpart. The White House declined to comment on whether Biden had discussed the issue with Modi at the G20. The leaders intervened at the G20 Summit after Canada urged its allies to raise the case directly with Modi, said two people familiar with the situation, who added Ottawa asked them to mention the claims in private,” the FT reported.

US provided Canada with intelligence after Nijjar’s killing: NYT

The New York Times has reported that the US provided Canada with intelligence after the killing of Nijjar but communications intercepted by Ottawa were more definitive and led it to accuse India of orchestrating the plot.

The US stand

Ever since the India-Canada diplomatic relations started going downhill after the explosive allegations, at least five senior US officials and diplomats – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, NSA Jake Sullivan, National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby, Garcetti and US Ambassador to Canada David Cohen – have made public statements with a nuanced message for both sides. In short, asking Delhi to cooperate, but also urging Ottawa not to jump the gun.

Other countries weigh in

Reacting to the accusationa, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s spokesperson said that Britain was in touch with Canada over the “serious” allegations but it would not affect the country’s trade talks with India. “Work on the trade negotiations will continue as before. The Canadian authorities will now conduct their work and I’m not going to preempt them,” the spokesperson told reporters.

Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ali Sabry termed PM Trudeau’s comments in the Canadian Parliament as “outrageous, unsubstantiated allegations”. Sabry told news agency ANI that he was “not surprised” as “some of the terrorists have found safe haven in Canada”.

“The Canadian PM has this way of just coming out with some outrageous allegations without any supporting proof,” he claimed, adding that Trudeau had made similar comments about the political situation in his country. “I don’t think anyone should poke their nose into other countries and tell as to how we should govern our country,” Sabry added.

— With inputs from agencies