Will engage quietly with India, not looking to escalate: Canadian PM Justin Trudeau

Sandeep Dikshit

New Delhi, October 4

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said ties with India are going through “extremely challenging times”, but maintained that Ottawa would not escalate the diplomatic standoff over the murder of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar and instead work “quietly” with New Delhi.

Parleys on

These are extremely challenging times with India, some of our diplomats on the ground are working with the Indian Government to engage responsibly and constructively.

— Justin Trudeau, Canadian PM

On the other hand, Washington continued to reiterate that the allegations of a potential Indian link in the murder were “serious and needed to be fully investigated with the participation of the Indian government”.

The US State Department did not comment on the “unofficial referendum” for Khalistan taking place in Canada and pointed out that in the US, individuals had the right to freedom of speech and the right to assemble peacefully. Trudeau said since these were challenging times with India, “some of our diplomats on the ground are working with the Indian government to engage responsibly and constructively”.

Asked if there would be retaliation to Canada having been asked to reduce its diplomatic strength in India, Trudeau said, “We are not looking to escalate. We are going to be quietly doing the work that matters in continuing to having constructive relations with India in this difficult time.” While India has given no reason for achieving parity in diplomatic strength, Canada claims it was withdrawing some of its diplomats due to security reasons. Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Jolie again stressed this aspect, stating that “we take Canadian diplomats’ safety very seriously” and called for full cooperation by India on the Nijjar killing. Meanwhile, the US State Department suggested that there might be no change in cooperation on its Indo-Pacific strategy with India. Its spokesperson Vedant Patel said “of course” when asked the question. “We are partners with them in the Quad and in many other fora. And we continue to work with them and other countries in the region on a number of important issues,” he added.