India-Canada row: External Affairs Minister Jaishankar may respond to PM Justin Trudeau's allegations at UN General Assembly

Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will address the 78th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Tuesday, where he is expected to respond to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s “allegations” that India was involved in the killing of pro-Khalistani leader Hardeep Nijjar in June. 

Tensions triggered between India and Canada following Trudeau's allegations of "potential" involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, 45, on June 18 in British Columbia. India had designated Nijjar as a terrorist in 2020.

Trudeau has also claimed that such "credible allegations" were shared with India weeks ago. "Canada has shared the credible allegations that I talked about on Monday with India. We did that many weeks ago. We are there to work constructively with India. We hope that they engage with us so that we can get to the bottom of this very serious matter," he told a news conference on Saturday.

India has rejected Justin Trudeau's allegation as "absurd". India has rejected the allegations as "absurd" and "motivated" and expelled a senior Canadian diplomat in a tit-for-tat move to Canada's expulsion of an Indian official over the case. 

India has also accused Canada of not acting upon "specific evidence about criminal activities" done by Canada-based individuals. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has prepared a list of 19 fugitive Khalistani terrorists living in UK, US, Canada, Dubai, Pakistan and other countries whose properties are also likely be confiscated, sources said.

Though Canada has claimed that it has evidence against Indian authorities, it is yet to share specific information regarding the charges.

Since Trudeau chose the Canadian Parliament as his platform to hurl unsubstantiated allegations against the Indian government, it is expected that Jaishankar could respond to the allegations in his style in his speech to UNGA on Tuesday, Hindustan Times reported. From New York, Jaishankar will head towards Washington DC for bilateral meetings with the Biden Administration. 

During his meetings in Washington later this week, Jaishankar is expected to discuss bilateral ties and the validity and credibility of the evidence provided by Five Eyes Alliance to Canada on Nijjar’s killing, the report said.

A day before his address at the General Debate at the ongoing high-level United Nations General Assembly session, Jaishankar met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and President of the 78th session of the General Assembly Dennis Francis on Monday at the headquarters of the world organisation.

Meanwhile, Canada on Monday updated its travel advisory and asked its citizens in India to 'stay vigilant and exercise caution' in context of recent developments. 

Issuing regional advisories, Canada said, "There are certain safety and security concerns or the situation could change quickly. Be very cautious at all times, monitor local media and follow the instructions of local authorities."

Canada asked citizens to not travel to India as their "personal safety and security are at great risk". "In the context of recent developments in Canada and in India, there are calls for protests and some negative sentiment towards Canada on social media. Please remain vigilant and exercise caution," read the latest advisory.

Also read: 'Remain vigilant': Canada updates travel advisory to India over 'negative sentiment'

Also read: ‘If Ottawa had any evidence, it would have released it’: Geostrategist Brahma Chellaney on India-Canada row

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