India – Canada Row: The White House has described the Canadian accusations concerning India’s role in the assassination of a pro-Khalistan leader as “serious” and emphasised the importance of conducting a thorough investigation.
What did US say on India – Canada Row?
Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the leader of the banned Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF), met his demise in Surrey, British Columbia on June 18. India had classified Nijjar as a terrorist in the year 2020. During the recent meeting between India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, the Canadian allegations were a topic of discussion, as revealed by John Kirby, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council during a press conference.
Kirby said, “The issue was discussed. We’ll certainly leave it to those two countries to talk about their bilateral relationship. 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.”
At a separate news briefing, Vedant Patel, Deputy Spokesperson for the State Department, emphasised the importance of Canada‘s ongoing investigation and the need for accountability. He stated, “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.”
US affirms for ‘Co-Operation’
He mentioned that the United States has taken note of the reports regarding the staffing levels of the Canadian High Commission in New Delhi. He 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. As it relates to our Indo-Pacific strategy and the focus that we continue to place on the region, that effort and that line of work is going to continue.”
Continuing further, he said, “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.”
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