The west had failed to see the 'reality' of India: Pak PM

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan caretaker Prime Minister Anwar ul Haq Kakar has said that the western countries had "failed to see and realise the reality of India's right-wing leadership" after Canada alleged Indian involvement in killing of a Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was declared a designated terrorist by New Delhi in 2020.

Speaking at the Council of Foreign Relations, the Pakistan Prime Minsiter said "the Hindutva ideologies of the BJP driven by Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalism approach is linked with the killing of Nijjar in Canada".

"These ideologies of Hindutva, they are becoming emboldened in a manner that they are going beyond the region," said Pakistan PM.

"The unfortunate killing of Singh on Canadian soil is a reflection of that ominous tendency," he added.

Prime Minister Kakar said that the "lukewarm response" by the west on the matter is not because of problems with the Canadian claim but is prevalent because of obvious economic and strategic reasons.

The statement of Pakistan Prime Minister comes after Pakistan's foreign office took a position on the India-Canada standoff, saying that "India's assassination of a Canadian national on the Canadian soil is a clear violation of international law and UN principle of state sovereignty," adding that India's network of extra-territorial killings had now gone global."

The India-Canada standoff after the alleged claim by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, revealing of alleged involvement of Indian intelligence and the state in the killing of Nijjar, who was killed outside a Sikh Gurdwara by two unknown shooters on June 18, 2023, has been aggravating and intensifying with every passing day.

Canada expelled an Indian Intelligence Station Chief Pawan Kumar Rai, while India expelled a Canadian top diplomat on the same day. The issue continued to worsen as now both sides have issued travel advisories to their citizens, decided to trim down their diplomats, while India has cancelled issuance of visa of India to all Canadian citizens.

And as Pakistan is being represented by the interim-Prime Minister at the UNGA; the opportunity is being used to target India, not only in terms of the issue of Jammu and Kashmir but also on the matter in focus related to India and Canada.

Pakistan maintains that the western powers led by the US have been "courting" India for years, seeing it as a natural ally to "counter" the growing economic and regional strength and standing of China.