India, Canada govts will have to talk to each other to solve the problem: EAM Jaishankar
Washington (PTI): The governments of India and Canada will have to talk to each other and see how they resolve their differences over the death of a Khalistani separatist, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said, asserting that the larger issue of "permissiveness" must be flagged and addressed.
During an interaction with Indian journalists here on Friday, he said India was ready to look into the information related to Canada's allegations of the "potential" involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on June 18 in British Columbia.
"The issue is as follows, which is that the Canadians have made some allegations. We have pointed out to them that this is not the government of India's policy, but if they are prepared to share with us specifics and anything relevant, we are also open to looking at it. So in that sense, that's where the matter stands," Jaishankar said.
"But what we do not want to see is an incident treated in isolation because then that somewhere does not convey the right picture," he said.
Jaishankar said India has had an ongoing problem with Canada and its government for some years now, and the problem really revolves around the "permissiveness in regard to terrorism, extremism and ballots," he said.
"This permissiveness is also reflected in the fact that some important extradition requests have not been responded to from their side in the fact that there are individuals and organisations who are clearly involved with violence and illegal activities in India who themselves declared it. I mean it is not a secret and that they continue to carry on with their activities in Canada," he said.
Jaishankar said one of the problems is no incident is isolated and the totality as there is a context for everything.
"There are multiple problems out there. So, I guess in the case of individual incidents, the concerned governments will have to talk to each other and see how they sort of take it forward," he said.
"But there is a larger issue. And I think it's important that the larger issue should be flagged. The larger issue is this permissiveness that I have spoken about," he said.
He said he discussed the ongoing diplomatic row between India and Canada with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.
"Most important, the fact that our diplomatic missions and our diplomatic personnel have been consistently and continuously intimidated in Canada to a point where today it is not safe for them really to carry on with their work.
"Obviously the fact that we've had to temporarily suspend our visa operations, it's not something we would've liked to do. It is just that they made it very difficult for us to operate those services," Jaishankar said.
Earlier in the day, Blinken told reporters he hoped that this issue would be resolved by Canada and India.
Tensions flared between India and Canada following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's explosive allegations of the "potential" involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Nijjar on his country's soil. India had designated Nijjar as a terrorist in 2020.
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.
"We are very concerned about the allegations that have been raised by Canada, by Prime Minister Trudeau. We have been in close contact with Canada about that. And at the same time, we have engaged with the Indian government and urged them to work with Canada on an investigation, and I had the opportunity to do so again in my meeting yesterday with Foreign Minister Jaishankar," Blinken said.
"Those responsible need to be held accountable, and we hope that our friends in both Canada and India will work together to resolve this matter," he said.
When asked if there is a deadlock between India and Canada on resolving the issue, Jaishankar said: "I don't know if I would use the term deadlock."
He said India's point is that there is today a climate of violence and an atmosphere of intimidation.
"Just think about it. We've had smoke bombs thrown at the mission. We've had our consulates, violence in front of them. Individuals have been targeted and intimidated. There are posters put up about people," he said.
"So tell me, do you consider this normal? Would, I mean for a moment, okay, this is about us. If this had happened to any other country, how would they react to it? I think it's a reasonable question to ask. Let's not normalise what is happening in Canada. What is happening in Canada, had it happened anywhere else, do you think the world would've taken it with equanimity?" he asked.
Jaishankar said it is necessary to call out what is happening in Canada.
He also asserted that it was not acceptable to make threats and intimidate diplomats in the name of freedom of speech.
"We don't need to learn from other people what freedom of speech is about. But we can tell people this. We don't think freedom of speech extends to incitement, to violence. That to us is a misuse of freedom. It's not a defense of freedom. I always ask people one question, how would you react if you were in my shoes? If it was your diplomats, your embassies, your people, what would be your reaction?" he asked.
Jaishankar said if there is a requirement for India to look at something, the country is open to it.
He said a lot of Americans are astonished if they are told what most Indians know that there are people in Canada who are advocating violence and separatism.
"I suspect very few Americans notice. So in a way, a lot of what I said at the meetings I think was new to the Americans. When Americans look at Canada, they see something. When we in India, look at Canada, we see something else.
"And that's part of the problem. So it's also important that we talk it out with the Americans. After all, they are very close to Canada. They are good friends of ours," he said.
"So it's important that they also have an accurate picture, that they have our point of view on this matter as well. I'm not pre-judging issues. I'm not taking absolutist positions. What we have taken is a very reasonable stance," he added.
Jaishankar said the entire debate should not focus only on issue one and not on issue two and the bigger picture, which has been going on for some time and which is a very serious picture.
"After all, I was thinking back when was the last time that any of our missions was intimidated to a point where it could not continue with its normal function? I will really have to think back. And if someone says this could happen in a G-7 country, in a commonwealth country, it gives you a lot to think about," Jaishankar said.
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Netanyahu recommends his Cabinet approve Hezbollah cease-fire proposal
Beirut, Nov 26: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that he would recommend his cabinet adopt a United States-brokered ceasefire agreement with Lebanon's Hezbollah, as Israeli warplanes struck across Lebanon, killing at least 23 people.
The Israeli military also issued a flurry of evacuation warnings — a sign it was aiming to inflict punishment on Hezbollah down to the final moments before any ceasefire takes hold. For the first time in the conflict, Israeli ground troops reached parts of Lebanon's Litani River, a focal point of the emerging deal.
In a televised statement, Netanyahu said he would present the ceasefire to Cabinet ministers later on Tuesday, setting the stage for an end to nearly 14 months of fighting.
Netanyahu said the vote was expected later Tuesday. It was not immediately clear when the ceasefire would go into effect, and the exact terms of the deal were not released. The deal does not affect Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza, which shows no signs of ending.
The evacuation warnings covered many areas, including parts of Beirut that previously have not been targeted. The warnings, coupled with fear that Israel was ratcheting up attacks before a ceasefire, sent residents fleeing. Traffic was gridlocked, and some cars had mattresses tied to them. Dozens of people, some wearing their pajamas, gathered in a central square, huddling under blankets or standing around fires as Israeli drones buzzed loudly overhead.
Hezbollah, meanwhile, kept up its rocket fire, triggering air raid sirens across northern Israel.
Lebanese officials have said Hezbollah also supports the deal. If approved by all sides, the deal would be a major step toward ending the Israel-Hezbollah war that has inflamed tensions across the region and raised fears of an even wider conflict between Israel and Hezbollah's patron, Iran.
The deal calls for a two-month initial halt in fighting and would require Hezbollah to end its armed presence in a broad swath of southern Lebanon, while Israeli troops would return to their side of the border. Thousands of Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers would deploy in the south, and an international panel headed by the United States would monitor all sides' compliance.
But implementation remains a major question mark. Israel has demanded the right to act should Hezbollah violate its obligations. Lebanese officials have rejected writing that into the proposal. Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz insisted on Tuesday that the military would strike Hezbollah if the U.N. peacekeeping force, known as UNIFIL, doesn't provide “effective enforcement” of the deal.
“If you don't act, we will act, and with great force,” Katz said, speaking with UN special envoy Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert.
The European Union's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, said Tuesday that Israel's security concerns had been addressed in the deal also brokered by France.
“There is not an excuse for not implementing a ceasefire. Otherwise, Lebanon will fall apart,” Borrell told reporters in Italy on the sidelines of a Group of Seven meeting. He said France would participate on the ceasefire implementation committee at Lebanon's request.
Bombardment of Beirut's southern suburbs continues
Even as Israeli, US, Lebanese and international officials have expressed growing optimism over a ceasefire, Israel has continued its campaign in Lebanon, which it says aims to cripple Hezbollah's military capabilities.
An Israeli strike on Tuesday levelled a residential building in the central Beirut district of Basta — the second time in recent days warplanes have hit the crowded area near the city's downtown. At least seven people were killed and 37 wounded, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry.
Three people were killed in a separate strike in Beirut and three in a strike on a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon. Lebanese state media said another 10 people were killed in the eastern Baalbek province. Israel says it targets Hezbollah fighters and their infrastructure.
Earlier, Israeli jets struck at least six buildings in Beirut's southern suburbs. One strike slammed near the country's only airport, sending plumes of smoke into the sky. The airport has continued to function despite its location on the Mediterranean coast next to the densely populated suburbs where many of Hezbollah's operations are based.
Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee issued evacuation warnings for 20 buildings in the suburbs, as well as a warning for the southern town of Naqoura where UNIFIL is headquartered.
UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti told The Associated Press that peacekeepers will not evacuate.
Other strikes hit in the southern city of Tyre, where the Israeli military said it killed a local Hezbollah commander.
The Israeli military also said its ground troops clashed with Hezbollah forces and destroyed rocket launchers in the Slouqi area on the eastern end of the Litani River, a few kilometres from the Israeli border.
Previous ceasefire hopes were dashed
Under the ceasefire deal, Hezbollah would be required to move its forces north of the Litani, which in some places is about 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of the border.
A ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, the strongest Iranian-backed force in the region, would likely significantly calm regional tensions that have led to fears of a direct, all-out war between Israel and Iran. It's not clear how the ceasefire will affect the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Hezbollah had long insisted that it would not agree to a ceasefire until the war in Gaza ends, but it dropped that condition.
Hezbollah began firing into northern Israel, saying it was showing support for the Palestinians, a day after Hamas carried out its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, triggering the Gaza war. Israel returned fire on Hezbollah, and the two sides have been exchanging barrages ever since.
Israel escalated its campaign of bombardment in mid-September and later sent troops into Lebanon, vowing to put an end to Hezbollah fire so tens of thousands of evacuated Israelis could return to their homes.
More than 3,760 people have been killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon the past 13 months, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The bombardment has driven 1.2 million people from their homes. Israel says it has killed more than 2,000 Hezbollah members.
Hezbollah fire has forced some 50,000 Israelis to evacuate in the country's north, and its rockets have reached as far south in Israel as Tel Aviv. At least 75 people have been killed, more than half of them civilians. More than 50 Israeli soldiers have died in the ground offensive in Lebanon.
After previous hopes for a ceasefire were dashed, U.S. officials cautioned that negotiations were not yet complete and noted there could be last-minute hitches that delay or destroy an agreement.
“Nothing is done until everything is done,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby said.
While the ceasefire proposal is expected to be approved if Netanyahu brings it to a vote in his security Cabinet, one hard-line member, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, said he would oppose it. He said on X that a deal with Lebanon would be a “big mistake” and a “missed historic opportunity to eradicate Hezbollah.”
