'I'm Not Part Of Five Eyes': Jaishankar On Sharing Of Intelligence Over Nijjar's Killing

S Jaishankar on Tuesday said that India will act if the Canadian authorities provide specific information in connection with the killing of Khalistani leader Hardeep Nijjar.

Tensions flared between India and Canada following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's explosive allegations of a "potential" involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on his country's soil on June 18 in British Columbia. India had designated Nijjar as a terrorist in 2020.

On PM Trudeau's allegations, Jaishankar said, "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, during the 'Discussion at Council on Foreign Relations' in New York.

The Five Eyes alliance is a collaboration of intelligence agencies from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

Recently, David Cohen, the US Ambassador to Canada, mentioned that the Trudeau administration's assertion regarding a potential connection between "agents" of the Indian government and the assassination of separatist Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar was based on "shared intelligence among Five Eyes partners."

During the event, the External Affairs Minister pointed out the "organised crime, related to secessionist forces, violence and extremism" in Canada while raising concerns over them being "very permissive" due to political reasons.

"In the last few years, Canada actually has seen a lot of organized crime, relating to the secessionist forces, organized crime, violence and extremism. They're all very, very deeply mixed up. So in fact, we have been talking about specifics and information," EAM added.

Addressing the 78th UN General Assembly session, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also said respect for territorial integrity and non-interference in internal affairs cannot be "exercises in cherry picking" and asserted that the days when a few nations set the agenda and expected others to fall in line are over.

"We must never again allow an injustice like vaccine apartheid to recur. Climate action too cannot continue to witness an evasion of historical responsibilities. The power of markets should not be utilized to steer food and energy from the needy to the wealthy.

"Nor must we countenance that political convenience determines responses to terrorism, extremism and violence. Similarly, respect for territorial integrity and non-interference in internal affairs cannot be exercises in cherry picking," the minister said.