EAM S Jaishankar likely to address Trudeaus allegations at UNGA

New Delhi, September 26: The spotlight is on India's External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar, as he prepares to address the UN General Assembly in New York, with expectations that he will respond to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's "credible allegations" regarding Indian involvement in the killing of Sikh leader Hardeep Nijjar, who had received training in Pakistan and was killed in June.

While India is still awaiting Canada to provide concrete legal evidence linking India to Nijjar's killing, it is apparent that Trudeau's engagement with Sikh politics may prevent him from retracting his allegations. Regardless of the quality of evidence or its legal validity, Trudeau is expected to implicate an Indian individual in Nijjar's murder.

The Sikh vote holds significant importance in Canadian politics. Former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper had requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to visit a Gurudwara in Surrey, British Columbia, during Modi's 2015 visit to Canada. It's worth noting that PM Modi received support even within the Sikh community, which is sometimes seen as radicalised, during his visit.

Canada updated its travel advisory to India after duly informing the Indian government about the impending action. The decision to update the advisory was made in response to certain videos targeting Canadians circulating online. Indian authorities were informed at a senior level, and the update was not meant to be interpreted as a hostile action.

Considering Trudeau chose the Canadian Parliament to level unsubstantiated allegations against the Indian government for an extrajudicial killing, it is expected that Jaishankar will respond in a manner befitting his style during his UNGA address. Following his UNGA speech, Jaishankar will travel to Washington DC for bilateral meetings with the Biden Administration, during which he will discuss bilateral relations and assess the validity and credibility of evidence provided by the Five Eyes Alliance to Canada regarding Nijjar's killing.

As time passes, it becomes imperative for the Trudeau government to identify Nijjar's contract killer, unless the strategy is to keep the issue simmering with India and subsequently make further unsubstantiated allegations to revive the issue.

India maintains a clear stance, asserting that the Modi government played no role in the political killing of Nijjar. India supports the legal process in Canada but stands ready to counter any unfounded accusations against the country. The onus is on Trudeau or his ally Jagmeet Singh to present credible evidence against India in writing and address the deteriorating bilateral relations initiated by the PM and his Foreign Minister's contentious statements.

Also Read: India Canada row: Canada issues revised travel advisory amid Nijjar's killing, urges vigilance