India raised Khalistan issue at ‘2+2 meet’ with the United states says reports

Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra during a press briefing after the 5th India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue

Amidst New Delhi’s diplomatic spat with Ottawa, news agency reported that India on Friday claimed it had communicated to the United States at the 2+2 ministerial meet, its grave concerns on the upsurge in pro-Khalistani terrorist activities in Canada.

Consistent discussions going on about Canada

“Insofar as Canada is concerned we have been having very consistent conversations with all our friends and partners. Our position on this matter has been enunciated and explained in full detail on multiple occasions,” news agency quoted foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra at a media briefing after the dialogue.

“The thrust of our conversations with our partners is no different today than it is at any other forum — it is essentially that we have core security concerns, a recent video surfaced from Pannun which presents a very serious security concern for the Indian interest,” Kwatra said.

Air India gets warning of attack

Last Saturday, Pannun issued a video in Punjabi alerting Sikhs to avoid travelling by Air India after November 19. Two times, he called for a “global blockade” of the flight from Vancouver to London in a statement released with the video.

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“We have made our position very, very clear to our friends and partners, they understand and appreciate that sense of where India comes from,” Kwatra said regarding the subject of whether the Canadian problem came up during the discussions between the US and Indian foreign and defense ministers.

Since September, there have been tensions between India and Canada as a result of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s “credible allegations of a potential link” between the June execution of Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar and Indian government operatives.

Following the reciprocal expulsion of diplomats by both nations, India temporarily halted visas to Canada. But last month, New Delhi started offering visa services again for a few categories.

Following India’s pursuit of “parity” in diplomatic power, Canada too withdrew 41 of its ambassadors.

Srishti Verma