"Not Part Of Five Eyes, FBI...": S Jaishankar On Hardeep Nijjar Intel

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday reiterated India's stance on the allegations levelled by Canada over the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar by stressing that India does not engage in such acts as a matter of "policy". 

The diplomatic row between India and Canada was triggered after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau claimed that his government has "credible allegations" of India's involvement in the June killing of Nijjar on Canadian soil.

The row worsened after a US diplomat alleged that there was "shared intelligence among Five Eyes partners" that had prompted Mr Trudeau's allegation about Indian agents' involvement in the killing.

Mr Jaishankar circumvented a reporter's query on the subject by saying, "I'm not part of The Five Eyes, I'm certainly not part of the FBI. So I think you're asking the wrong person." 

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Speaking at the Council for Foreign Relations in New York on Tuesday, Mr Jaishankar drew attention to the issue of organised crime in Canada, particularly that which is linked to secessionist forces, violence, and extremism. He also expressed concern about Canada's apparent willingness to tolerate such activities for political reasons.

India has categorically rejected Canada's "baseless" allegations, noting that the Trudeau administration has yet to provide any evidence to support its claim. Mr Jaishankar assured Canada that India will take action if it is provided with specific information about Nijjar's killing. He added that India is "open to looking at it."

"We told the Canadians that this is not the government of India's policy. Secondly, we said if you have something specific and if you have something relevant, let us know. We are open to looking at it...The picture is not complete without the context in a way," he said. 

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Earlier on Tuesday, Mr Jaishankar, addressing the 78th UN General Assembly, called on UN member states to resist "political convenience" in their responses to terrorism and violence, in an implicit criticism of Canada. 

Mr Jaishankar also said that respect for territorial integrity and non-interference in internal affairs must be universal, and that the era of a few nations setting the agenda for the rest of the world is over, in what many have interpreted to be a veiled dig at both China and Canada.