New Delhi (TIP) – The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has maintained that the Government’s position is “quite consistent” with regard to terrorism-related concerns between India and Canada.
“Whenever this issue is raised, we have highlighted how we see the problem. The core issue is the space given to terrorists, separatists and anti-Indian elements in Canada. Whether they have noted a shift or not, our position has been consistent,” responded MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi at a media briefing when asked to react to Canadian PM Justin Trudeau stating that there has been a “tonal shift” in the Indian Government’s stance on alleged extra-territorial assassinations after the US unsealed an indictment relating to an alleged assassination plot against Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. “We hope they will take action against such elements misusing the freedom of speech and expression in that country,” added Bagchi.
In a year-end interview to a Canadian news channel, Trudeau had said Ottawa did not want to enter into a diplomatic standoff with India regarding the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. “I think there is a beginning of an understanding that they can’t bluster their way through this and there is openness to collaborating in a way that perhaps they were less open before,” he said. He said the US indictment appears to have convinced the Indian government to adopt a more sober tone.
The ties between India and Canada came under severe strain following Trudeau’s allegations on September 18 of a “potential” involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on June 18 in British Columbia.
India had designated Nijjar as a terrorist in 2020. India rejected Trudeau’s allegations as “absurd” and “motivated”. In November, the US federal prosecutors charged that one Nikhil Gupta was working with an Indian government employee in the foiled plot to kill a Sikh separatist, who holds dual citizenship of the US and Canada. Though the separatist Sikh leader was not named, media reports identified him as Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the leader of the Sikhs for Justice, an organisation banned in India.
Tag: Ministry of External Affairs
-
No ‘tonal shift’ in relations with Canada, our stance firm, says India
-
US recognizes Arunachal Pradesh as India’s integral part: White House
WASHINGTON, D.C. (TIP): The US has recognized Arunachal Pradesh as an integral part of India and strongly opposes any unilateral attempts to advance territorial claims by renaming localities, the White House has said. The US reaction came in response to Beijing announcing Chinese names for 11 more places in Arunachal Pradesh which the neighboring country claims as the southern part of Tibet.
The official names of the 11 places were released on Sunday by China’s ministry of civil affairs. “The United States has recognized that territory (Arunachal Pradesh) for a long time (as an integral part of India). And we strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to advance territorial claims by renaming localities,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Tuesday, April 4. “And so, again, this is something that we have long stood by,” Jean-Pierre told reporters at her daily news conference. India on Tuesday outrightly rejected China renaming some places in Arunachal Pradesh, asserting that the state is an integral part of India and assigning “invented” names does not alter this reality. “We have seen such reports. This is not the first time China has made such an attempt. We reject this outright,” Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.
“Arunachal Pradesh is, has been, and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India. Attempts to assign invented names will not alter this reality,” he said. It was the third batch of standardized geographical names for Arunachal Pradesh issued by China’s civil affairs ministry.
The first batch of the standardized names of six places in Arunachal Pradesh was released in 2017 and the second batch of 15 places was issued in 2021. China’s renaming of the places in Arunachal Pradesh came in the midst of the lingering eastern Ladakh border standoff that began in May 2020. Following the standoff, India bolstered its overall military preparedness along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Arunachal Pradesh sector as well.
The Indian and Chinese troops are locked in a nearly three-year-long confrontation in certain friction points in eastern Ladakh even as the two sides completed disengagement of troops from several areas following extensive diplomatic and military talks. India has been maintaining that its ties with China cannot be normal unless there is peace in the border areas.
(Source: PTI)