Blinken said the US has engaged directly with the Indian government on the issue and the most productive thing would be the completion of this investigation.

New Delhi: United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated on Friday that America is ‘deeply concerned’ about the allegations made by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau regarding India’s involvement in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. During a press briefing in New York, he mentioned that the US has engaged directly with the Indian Government on the issue and is also consulting ‘very closely’ with Canada on the matter. Blinken further emphasised that the US wants to see accountability and considers it ‘important’ that the ‘investigation runs its course and leads to a result.’

“We are deeply concerned about the allegations that Canadian PM Trudeau has raised. We have been consulting very closely with our Canadian colleagues, and coordinating with them on this issue. From our perspective, it is critical that the Canadian investigation proceed. It would be important that India work with the Canadians on this investigation. We want to see accountability and it’s important that the investigation run its course and lead to that result…We have been engaged directly with the Indian govt as well. The most productive thing that can happen now is to see this investigation move forward, be completed,” Blinken said.

Notably, Tensions between India and Canada intensified following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s accusation that the Indian government was involved in the fatal shooting of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. To which, India angrily rejected the allegations as ‘absurd’ and ‘motivated’, and expelled a senior Canadian diplomat in a tit-for-tat move to Ottawa’s expulsion of an Indian official over the case. Nijjar was fatally shot in a parking area outside a Gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, on June 18 of this year.

When asked to give details in regards to the diplomatic conversations that US had with both countries, he refused it and stated that investigation must move forward and be completed.

“I’m not going to characterize or otherwise speak to diplomatic conversations that we’ve have. We’ve been engaged directly with the Indian government as well. And again, I think the most productive thing that can happen now is to see this investigation move forward, be completed. And we would hope that our Indian friends would cooperate with that investigation as well,” the US Secretary of State stated.

“More broadly, you’ve heard me speak to this. We are extremely vigilant about any instances of alleged transnational repression, something we take very, very seriously. And I think it’s important more broadly for the international system that any country that might consider engaging in such acts not do so. So, it’s something that we’re also focused on in a much broader way,” he added.

On Friday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated that Ottawa had shared allegations regarding the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar with India weeks ago.

“In regards to India, Canada has shared the credible allegations that I talked about on Monday. With India, we did that many weeks ago. We are there to work constructively with India and we hope that they engage with us so that we can get to the bottom of this very serious matter,” Trudeau stated while addressing a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr yesterday.

Indian Ministry of External Affairs, in a press release, said that the Canadian Prime Minister had made similar allegations to PM Modi and they were “completely rejected.”

“We have seen and reject the statement of the Canadian Prime Minister in their Parliament, as also the statement by their Foreign Minister. Allegations of the Government of India’s involvement in any act of violence in Canada are absurd and motivated,” MEA press release read.