Foreign Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday said the attack on a Hindu temple in Canada’s Brampton on Sunday was “deeply concerning” and accused Ottawa of leveling allegations against India in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, without providing details.

“What happened at a Hindu temple in Canada was obviously deeply concerning. And you would have seen first the statement of the official spokesperson (of the MEA) as well as the expression of concern of our Prime Minister yesterday. So that should, I think, show you how deeply affected we are by this issue,” he said at a joint news conference with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong after their meeting in Canberra.

Canada, he said, is putting Indian diplomats under surveillance, which is unacceptable to India. Mr. Jaishankar also spoke about the political space given to extremist voices in Canada. “So we believe in freedoms, we also believe that freedom should not be abused, and we discussed it along exactly the same lines,” he added.

The Australian minister said she had discussed with Mr. Jaishankar the accusations made by Canada regarding the involvement of Indian agents in the assassination of Nijjar. “We have clearly expressed our concerns regarding the allegations under investigation. We have said that we respect Canada’s judicial process. We are conveying our views to India as you would expect us to do. And we have a principled position on issues like the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary and also, frankly, the sovereignty of all countries,” she said in response to a question.

In the context of Australia’s Sikh community, Ms Wong said people have the right to be safe and respected no matter who they are in her country and that this is the essence of Australia’s multicultural democracy. Australia.

Referring to bilateral economic relations, Mr. Jaishankar said the India-Australia Economic and Trade Cooperation Agreement (ECTA) had yielded results and the two countries were currently negotiating a comprehensive economic cooperation agreement ( CECA). He also spoke of the growing partnership between the two countries in other areas such as education and defense.