The White House has stated that the Canadian claims regarding India’s participation in the murder of a pro-Khalistan leader are “serious” and require a thorough investigation.
The leader of the outlawed Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF), Hardeep Singh Nijjar, was assassinated on June 18 in Surrey, British Columbia. In 2020, India deemed Nijjar to be a terrorist.
According to John Kirby, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council in the White House, the claims made by Canada were discussed when visiting External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met here last week.
“The matter was talked about. We will undoubtedly defer to those two nations to discuss their bilateral relationship, Kirby responded to a query.
We’ve been clear: These claims need to be thoroughly probed because they are serious. Of course, as we’ve said before, we urge India to actively take part in the investigation.
At a different press conference, Vedant Patel, the deputy spokesperson for the State Department, stressed to reporters how important it is for Canada’s investigation to continue and for the culprits to be prosecuted.
He said, “We have also, as we have previously stated publicly and privately, pushed the Indian government to participate in the Canadian investigation and in those efforts.
He said that reports on the diplomatic staffing levels for the Canadian High Commission in New Delhi have been reviewed by the US.
“However, I have nothing more to add to those stories, and I certainly don’t want to enter into hypotheticals; instead, I want to take this process step by step. That initiative and that line of work will continue as it relates to our Indo-Pacific strategy and the emphasis we continue to make on the region, he said.
India is one of our partners in the Quad and many other projects, and we continue to collaborate with them and other nations in the region on a variety of crucial topics.
The Indian government has been requested both publicly and privately to assist with Canada, Patel said, adding that “as I said, we take these allegations very seriously.” Patel continued, “We continue to not just work closely with our Canadian partners.”
