Over the past several days, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has reached out to prominent global leaders in a bid to internationalise diplomatic row between India and Canada over the killing of Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Trudeau spoke with King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein of Jordan recently, and provided him with an “update on the situation between Canada and India”, as he noted the significance of “adhering to the rule of law and respecting the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations”.
He also spoke with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed and raised Canada’s diplomatic spat with India. It is just a ridiculous act on his part to underline the significance of adhering to the rule of law and respecting the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. What Trudeau must not lose sight of is that it is Indian missions which have been threatened by the pro-Khalistan extremists in Canada. Indian diplomats are living under spectre of fear due to threat from these elements.
Canadian missions have not been threatened in New Delhi. In the background of the nefarious activities that have been happening under his watch in Ottawa, Trudeau’ statement underlining the importance of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations is preposterous and should be condemned. It is Canada which needs to respect the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. All the international leaders including the Jordan King and UAE President must understand this message in the right perspective. On several occasions, Trudeau has literally failed to act against the militants and terrorists who are enjoying safe haven in Canada despite evidence having been shared by India. He failed to safeguard Indian interests and missions on the soil of Canada.
So, he does not have any moral authority whatsoever to preach about rule of law. His outreach to the global leaders is nothing but a clear attempt to internationalise the row between India and Canada. He wants various countries of the world to rally behind Canada amid the on-going diplomatic spat between New Delhi and Ottawa. The global community knows that the diplomatic row between Canada and India was sparked by Trudeau’s baseless allegations of New Delhi’s involvement in the murder of Khalistani terrorist Nijjar.
In fact, Trudeau is obviously disappointed that the West did not rally around Canada despite all attempts made by him to persuade them to back Ottawa. Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi on Thursday remarked, “How does it help address the core issue? The core issue is space given by Canada to terrorists.”
The spokesperson was replying to a question on the Canadian prime minister speaking to UAE and Jordan leaders and raking India. While Trudeau has reached out to one leader or the other at regular intervals seeking their sympathy amid the diplomatic row with India, he is not focussing on the real issue of dealing with terror elements on Canadian soil. He has used the killing of Nijjar to divert the focus of the global community from the core issue that the MEA spokesperson referred to. In what is being viewed as a setback to Trudeau, the discussion on India-Canada ties was not explicitly mentioned in the statement issued by King Abdullah II’s office. Trudeau’s dialogue with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak earlier this week did not also help the Canadian side to achieve any diplomatic mileage.
Reaffirming the UK stance, Sunak stressed the need for respecting rule of law in what is also a message for Ottawa. The global community to which Trudeau is reaching out must take note of the clinching evidence shared by India to establish that terrorists are getting safe space in Canada. At the same time, the Canadian prime minister has so far failed to provide any credible evidence to prove his allegation about India having a link to the killing of a Khalistani terrorist.