Diplomats unsafe; Canada is promoting terrorism on its own soil: S Jaishankar 

NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar reacted strongly against Canada. He openly stated that Canada has a tendency to promote terrorism and extremism on its own soil. The minister's response has revealed how much Canada's stance on the killing of Khalistan terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar has affected the relationship between the two countries.

He said that Indian diplomats in Canada are "unsafe" when they go to the office. "They are publicly intimidated and that has actually compelled me to temporarily suspend even visa operations in Canada", he added. At the same time, the United States reiterated its position that India should cooperate with Canada in the investigation related to the killing of Nijjar.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has sought India's cooperation in the investigation. He raised the issue in a meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. The United States has not rejected Canada's position that agents of the Indian intelligence agency were behind the killing of Nijjar, but has not taken a public stand against India. The Chinese media had accused the United States of taking a double standard on the issue because of this. The Nijjar issue came up again during the Antony Blinken-Jayashankar meeting following this.