Nijjar killing: Has India agreed to ‘cooperate’ with Canada? US official responds

The US claimed that the Joe Biden administration has engaged with the Indian government on a number of occasions urging them to cooperate with Canada in its investigations into the death of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

State department spokesperson Mathew Miller told reporters at his daily news briefing that the issue was raised by secretary of state Antony Blinken during his meeting with external affairs minister S Jaishankar in Washington DC last week.

“As he made clear then, I will reiterate now, we remain in close coordination with our Canadian colleagues on this question,” Miller.

Miller added, “We have engaged with the Indian government on a number of occasions to urge them to cooperate with Canada’s investigation. The secretary had an opportunity to do that in his meeting with the foreign minister on Friday.”

When asked if India has agreed to cooperate with Canada, Miller said this is for New Delhi to respond to. “I will let the Indian government speak for themselves and I will speak for the United States government, and we urge that cooperation,” the state department spokesperson said.

The diplomatic relationship between New Delhi and Ottawa saw its lowest point after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently alleged that the Indian government could be behind the killing of Nijjar.

Nijjar, a designated terrorist in India, was shot dead outside at a parking lot outside a Gurdwara in Canada’s Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18.

Trudeau, during a debate in the Canadian Parliament, alleged Canada’s national security officials had reasons to believe that “agents of the Indian government” carried out the killing of Nijjar, who also served as the president of Surrey’s Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara.

However, India has outrightly rejected the claims, calling it “absurd” and “motivated”.

The Indian government has said Canada was yet to provide any public evidence to support the claim about the killing of Nijjar.

Jaishankar recently said the ongoing problem with Canada has been there for some years because of the “permissiveness” of the government regarding terrorism, extremism and violence in the country.

Jaishankar said that the current situation can’t be termed a “deadlock”, adding that the Indian government is open to looking at any specific and relevant thing shared by the Canadian side in connection with the issue.