Nijjar killing row: ‘Not part of Five Eyes’, Jaishankar refuses to comment on reports of intelligence shared

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday refused to comment on the reports sharing of intelligence between Five Eyes countries on Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s killing. “I am not part of The Five Eyes”, the minister said during the ‘Discussion at Council on Foreign Relations' in New York. 

He was asked about the reports citing the role of the Five Eyes group regarding the intelligence behind the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, and reports of the FBI warning US Sikh leaders about “credible threats” to them, ANI reported. 

The Five Eyes is an intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the US, and the UK.

Jaishankar also accused PM Justin Trudeau's government of not taking any action against terrorists, and extremists living in Canada. “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.

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“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.

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.

This came after the US ambassador to Canada, David Cohen, earlier said it was shared intelligence among Five Eyes partners that led the Trudeau administration to make the claim of a potential link between agents of the Indian government and the Nijjar killing. 

A designated terrorist in India, Nijjar was shot dead outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18.