India is waiting for details about the arrest of three Indians linked to the murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said on Saturday.
“I came across news yesterday night that three people have been arrested, apparently Indians of some kind of gang background. We have to wait for police to tell us more,” he said.
Mr. Jaishankar emphasised that New Delhi has always sought more details and evidence to support Ottawa’s accusations on the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. “We have never been given anything by Canada which involves the Government of India. In fact, we have repeatedly told them, ‘If you have something, please give it to us.’ Yes, some people have been arrested. One of our concerns is that they have allowed organised crime from India, specifically from Punjab, to operate there. I think you may have seen something like that. I don’t know. We have to wait for police to tell us,” he said.
“We have taken up Khalistani issue with Canada in great detail. They have a lot of knowledge about many Khalistanis in Canada, but they have chosen not to do anything about it. We have many extradition requests pending with them. From our side, we are very clear about our stand,” the External Affairs Minister said, during his two-day visit to Odisha.
‘No shortage of terrorists in Pakistan’
Commenting on many terrorists getting killed on Pakistani soil, he said, “There is no shortage of terrorists and people involved in crime in Pakistan. Some people have a background of terrorism. Some people have died in unusual circumstances. That is something they need to investigate.”
Explained | Who was Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the Sikh activist whose killing has divided Canada and India?
“In fact, first they have to answer as to why there have been so many terrorists in Pakistan. You have many terrorists and they are not nice people. They are doing things to each other,” Mr. Jaishankar remarked.
Later addressing a press conference, he said that the government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi was committed to helping Indians who are in any kind of problem on foreign soil,
‘No tolerance for terror’
Referring to the possibility of further threats from Pakistan, Mr. Jaishankar said, “There is history of cross border terrorism. Till Modi Sarkar came, we were tolerating it and we were turning the other cheek. We were not acting. After Modiji came, things have changed. You saw Uri and you saw Balakot. We have made it very clear today that any threat of cross-border terrorism which comes from Pakistan will get appropriate response from India.”
“As far as China is concerned, attempts have been made to put pressure on us, by bringing lots of troops to the Line of Actual Control (LAC). We have very strongly countered it. Today, thousands of members of the Indian Army are on deployment near the LAC... We are clear, we are strong and we are deployed. Any action we have to take as per circumstances, our armed forces will naturally be in best charge of it,” he said.
