US, Canada Harming India’s Reputation Through Media Leaks: Ex-Foreign Secretary

© GEOFF ROBINSSikhs protestors for the independence of Khalistan scuffle with police in front of the Indian Consulate in Toronto, Canada, on July 8, 2023.
Sikhs protestors for the independence of Khalistan scuffle with police in front of the Indian Consulate in Toronto, Canada, on July 8, 2023. - Sputnik India, 1920, 24.11.2023
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The West's tolerance of the activities of Sikh radicals has been a major concern for India. The US and Canada are trying to pressure India in the case of assassination of a designated terrorist.
India’s former foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal has raised serious concerns over the "media leaks” from Canadian and American establishments on the Khalistan issue.
The Khalistan movement refers to the demand for the creation of a separate Sikh homeland by secessionists, most of who are primarily based in Canada and the US.
Sibal, a former Indian Ambassador to Washington and Moscow, told Sputnik India that these media leaks were intended to harm India’s global stature.

"For instance, there are elements in the US establishment who want to target India on the human rights issue,” the former diplomat explained, referencing to Washington’s oft-repeated criticism of Indian government on its "stance towards minorities'.

At a joint press conference in the White House during a state visit to the US in June, Modi categorically rejected the charge that there was any “religious discrimination” in India as such.
Sibal, however, added that there were other issues as well on which the US and its western allies would harm tarnish India’s reputation.
New Delhi has rejected to buckle under the US pressure to cut down its time-tested relationship with Russia, a close defence, energy and strategic partner.

“There is a difference in the so-called values between India and the West,” Sibal highlighted.

Sibal also pointed to Canada’s growing role in whipping up anti-India narrative globally through the use of media leaks.

Sibal also reckoned Canada’s deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, a close associated of PM Justin Trudeau, could be leaking a series of “anti-India” stories to the western press.
Sibal recalled that Freeland had been a former editor at Financial Times as well as at Canadian publication The Globe and Mail.
Both the publications have in recent months carried stories based on anonymous sources claiming India’s role in the assassination plots of Sikh separatists operating from the two nations.
“This explains why story were planted in FT. (It seems) clearly to have been stage-managed by Canadian/US operatives to harm rising India’s standing,” Sibal underscored.

US Attempt to Find Evidence of 'India's Involvement in an Assassination Plot' Against a Designated Terrorist

The charge by Sibal comes against the backdrop of a recent news article by The Financial Times, which claimed that the US “thwarted a conspiracy to assassinate a Sikh separatist on American soil” and warned the Indian government over its alleged involvement in the plot.
The Sikh extremist in question is Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a dual US-Canadian citizen who heads Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), a banned terrorist organization under India’s anti-terror law Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
Pannun, who this month threatened to blow up Air India flights, is also a designated terrorist under UAPA.
The FT report claimed that US President Joe Biden raised the alleged assassination plot with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the G20 Summit in New Delhi in September.
The report stated that a “sealed indictment” against one of the alleged plotters, who is no longer present in the US, has been filed at a New York district court.
It also revealed that the US informed its allies about the alleged plot after another Sikh extremist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, was gunned down by unidentified men in Surrey, British Columbia, in June.
Nijjar, a Canadian citizen at the time of his death, was also a designated terrorist under India’s UAPA.
Trudeau has accused Indian government “agents” of being involved in Nijjar’s assassination, a charge that has triggered a major diplomatic row between New Delhi and Ottawa.
Indian foreign minister S Jaishankar has denied Trudeau’s accusation, saying it isn’t India’s policy to carry out such actions. New Delhi has also said that Canada has refused to share evidence with it on the matter till date.
However, the US has persisted with its policy of pressuring India on the matter, with US State Secretary Antony Blinken again urging New Delhi to cooperate in the Nijjar case during the 2+2 Dialogue in New Delhi this month.
Khalistan supporters  - Sputnik India, 1920, 03.10.2023
Khalistan Row Shows US & Allies Must Respect India’s Strategic Autonomy: Expert
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