They can speak for themselves: US on India’s response on Canada’s allegations

WASHINGTON: US State Department spokesperson Mathew Miller said that India can speak for itself regarding the Canadian allegations related to Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar's killing and the ongoing investigations.

He mentioned that Washington has urged New Delhi to collaborate with the Canadian investigation.

During the press briefing, State Department spokesperson Mathew Miller was asked whether the issue of Canadian allegations will be raised during External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s meeting with his US counterpart Antony Blinken.

“One of the practices I'm going to continue to try to adhere to, is to not speak publicly about what, Secretary Blinken or other representatives of this department will say in their meetings before the Secretary has a chance to say it directly to those counterparts,” Miller said.

He added, “We have consistently engaged with the Indian Government on this question and have urged them to cooperate. And that engagement and the urge for them to cooperate will continue”.

On being further asked about India’s response to the US’ call for cooperation in the investigation, Miller refused to comment on what is said in private diplomatic conversations.

“They can speak for themselves. I'm not going to speak to what they say in private diplomatic conversations. I will speak to what I say or what we say and that is we urge them to cooperate with the Canadian investigation,” he added.

Early last week, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made an explosive statement alleging the Indian government of being involved in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. However, India has outrightly rejected the claims, calling it ‘absurd’ and ‘motivated’.

Earlier, Antony Blinken had said that Washington is "deeply concerned" about the allegations made by the Canadian PM about the Indian government's involvement in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, adding that the US wants to see accountability and called it "important" that the investigation runs its course and leads to the result.

“We are deeply concerned about the allegations that Prime Minister Trudeau has raised. We have been consulting throughout very closely with our Canadian colleagues, and not just consulting, coordinating with them on this issue,” Blinken said.

He added, “And from our perspective, it is critical that the Canadian investigation proceed. And it would be important that India work with the Canadians on this investigation. We want to see accountability, and it's important that the investigation run its course and lead to that result," he added.

Notably, Canada has yet to provide any public evidence to support the claim about the slaying of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. India has suspended its visa services in Canada, following Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau's allegations of Indian involvement in the killing.

Amid strained ties, India issued an advisory for its citizens and those who are travelling to Canada to exercise “utmost caution in view of growing anti-India activities and politically-condoned hate crimes and criminal violence" in the country.