Canadian PM Justin Trudeau’s aircraft suffers technical snag ahead of departure from India
Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau was unable to depart from India after his aircraft suffered a technical snag.
The delegates had not boarded the flight. The information was conveyed to the airport teams well in advance and now the aircraft will take off in the morning on Monday.
Trudeau is headed back to Canada after attending a two-day G20 Summit in the national capital. Earlier in the day, the Canadian prime minister held bilateral talks with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.
During the meeting, PM Modi conveyed to Trudeau about India’s concerns related to continuing anti-India activities of extremist elements in Canadan who are promoting secessionism and inciting violence against Indian diplomats and threatening the Indian community there.
“The Prime Minister highlighted that India-Canada relations are anchored in shared democratic values, respect for rule of law and strong people-to-people ties,” the ministry of external affairs said.
“The nexus of such forces with organized crime, drug syndicates and human trafficking should be a concern for Canada as well. It is essential for the two countries to cooperate in dealing with such threats,” PTI quoted the MEA statement.
‘Canada will always defend freedom of expression’
During a press conference held after the G20 Summit, Trudeau was asked about increasing incidents involving pro-Khalistan elements in Canada. “Canada will always defend freedom of expression, freedom of conscience, and freedom of peaceful protest and it is extremely important to us.. at the same time we are always there to prevent violence and to push back against hatred”, the Canadian premier replied.
On Friday, a Hindu temple in Canada’s Surrey in British Columbia was desecreated with anti-India and pro-Khalistan graffiti painted on its wall. The incident took place amid pro-Khalistan outfit Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) threatening to ‘lock down’ Indian consulates in Vancouver.
In August, the Lakshmi Narayan Mandir in Surrey town was defaced with anti-India and pro-Khalistan slogans pasted on its front gate.