US on India-Canada row: US stresses the need for full investigation into 'serious' Canadian allegations against India

Washington, October 4: The White House has deemed the allegations made by Canada regarding India's involvement in the killing of a Sikh leader as "serious" and has stressed the need for a comprehensive investigation.

Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the leader of the banned Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF), was killed in Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18. In 2020, India had designated Nijjar as a terrorist. These claims by Canada were discussed during a recent meeting between India's External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar, and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in Washington, as stated by John Kirby, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council during a press conference.

Kirby commented, "The issue was discussed. We'll certainly leave it to those two countries to talk about their bilateral relationship."

He further emphasised, "We've been clear, these allegations are serious, they need to be fully investigated, and of course, as we've said before, we urge India to participate actively in that investigation."

Vedant Patel, the Deputy Spokesperson of the State Department, also addressed the matter in a separate press conference, highlighting the importance of Canada's ongoing investigation and the need to bring the perpetrators to justice.

"We also have, as we've previously said publicly and privately, urged the Indian government to cooperate in the Canadian investigation and cooperate in those efforts," Patel affirmed.

Regarding reports about diplomatic staffing levels for the Canadian High Commission in New Delhi, Patel stated, "But I don't have anything further to offer on those reports and certainly don't want to get into hypotheticals and take this process one step at a time."

He stressed the United States' commitment to its Indo-Pacific strategy and continued collaboration with India on various regional issues.

"With India, we are partners with them in the Quad and in many others, and we continue to work with them and other countries in the region on a number of important issues," Patel added. "But as I said, we take these allegations very seriously and we continue to not just work closely with our Canadian partners but have publicly and privately urged the Indian government to cooperate with Canada."

Also Read: Sikkim flash floods: 23 Indian Army soldiers missing after cloudburst triggers massive floods in Sikkim, search operation on

- With inputs from agencies

Join Whatsapp Channel