Nijjar killing row: ‘Canada has seen a lot of organized crime’, says Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday accused PM Justin Trudeau's government of not taking any action against terrorists, and extremists living in Canada. In a veiled attack amid a row over Hardeep Singh Nijjar's killing, the minister said that it was ‘politically inconvenient'. 

Speaking at a Council on Foreign Relations event in New York, Jaishankar said, “Canada actually has seen a lot of organized crime relating to the secessionist forces, organized crime, violent extremism.”

“Our concern is that it’s really been very permissive because of political reasons. So we have a situation where, actually, our diplomats are threatened," he added. 

Jaishankar, who was asked repeatedly about the growing diplomatic rift in a question and answer session at the event on Tuesday, declined to say whether Canada had handed over any intelligence linking Indian officials to the shooting death of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Bloomberg reported. 

“I’ll share with you very kindly what we told the Canadians. We told the Canadians, one, this is not the government of India’s policy. Two, we told the Canadians, look, if you have something specific, if you have something relevant, let us know. We are open to looking at," the minister said. 

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Meanwhile, he also urged the United Nations to reform and listen to more countries, while also warning nations that “political convenience” must not determine responses to terrorism or violence.

“Respect for territorial integrity and non-interference in internal affairs cannot be exercised in cherry-picking,” Jaishankar told the UN General Assembly in New York.

“When reality departs from the rhetoric, we must have the courage to call it out. Without genuine solidarity, there can never be real trust. This is very much the sentiment of the Global South," Jaishankar said as quoted by Bloomberg. 

However, it's not clear whether Jaishankar was referring to Canada in his remarks. The Indian government has repeatedly accused Canada of ignoring evidence of extremism among its large and politically powerful Sikh diaspora. 

(With Bloomberg inputs)