BackIndia-Canada row: EAM Jaishankar meets Antony Blinken for bilateral talks; no mention of Nijjar's killing. 10 points
Canada's Prime Minister Trudeau expected US Secretary of State Blinken to raise the murder of a Sikh separatist leader with India, but the issue was not mentioned in a US statement after the meeting. The US has taken a cautious approach due to India's counterweight to China.
PremiumCanadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was sure US Secretary of State Antony Blinken would raise the murder of a Sikh separatist leader when he met his Indian counterpart on Thursday, however, a US statement after the meeting made no mention about the issue. Trudeau made came 10 days after he announced Canada suspected the Indian government agents were linked to the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, which took place in the province of British Columbia on 18 June. Nijjar was a Canadian citizen but India had declared him a "terrorist." He supported the cause of Khalistan, or an independent homeland for Sikhs to be carved out of India.
Also Read: Nijjar killing row: ‘Canada has seen a lot of organized crime’, says Jaishankar
Here are 10 points you need to know:
1. During the meeting, Jaishankar and Blinken affirmed hope for positive outcomes from the bilateral talks.
2. Antony Blinken said that the two leaders have had very good discussions lately and is looking forward for the talks, as reported by ANI.
3. A US State Department statement after Blinken met his Indian counterpart made no mention of Nijjar's murder or of Canada as a whole.
Also Read: Nijjar killing row: ‘We cannot bend rules’ says Canadian diplomat. Here's how India-Canada dispute was dealt with at UN
4. A short State Department summary of the issues discussed in the meeting between Blinken and Jaishankar, formally called a readout, listed topics like India's G20 presidency, the creation of an India-Middle East-Europe corridor and topics like defense, space and clean energy.
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5. Jaishankar recalled PM Modi’s state visit to the US in June and said that he is looking forward to Blinken's visit to Delhi for the 2 2 dialogue. After meeting Blinked, he tweeted saying, “Great to meet my friend US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at State Department today. A wide ranging discussion, following up on PM Narendra Modi’s June visit. Also exchanged notes on global developments. Laid the groundwork of our 2+2 meeting very soon."
6. With this, it looks like traditional Canadian allies, including the United States, have appeared to take a cautious approach to the matter. Political analysts told Reuters that this is partly because Washington and other major players see India as a counterweight to the growing influence of China.
7. Amid this, the Canadian Prime Minister has said that Canada is still committed to building closer ties with India, despite “credible allegations", Canada-based National Post said as reported by ANI.
8. After Canada made the allegations, India dismissed it calling it absurd.
9. Earlier on Tuesday, Jaishankar had said that India told Canada that it was open to looking into any "specific" or "relevant" information it provides on the killing. Trudeau, is yet to publicly share any evidence. Last week, he said that he had shared the "credible allegations" with India "many weeks ago."
10. Last week, Blinken said that the United States was "deeply concerned" about the allegations raised by Trudeau and added it was important for India to work with Canada in this investigation.
(With inputs from Reuters, ANI)
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