Canada row wake-up call on India: PM

NEW YORK:

Pakistan on Thursday said that Western nations had failed to see the “reality” of New Delhi’s right-wing leadership after Canada alleged Indian involvement in a killing.

Canada expelled an Indian diplomat, prompting a tit-for-tat reaction, after concluding that Indian agents played a role in the June killing near Vancouver of a Sikh separatist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar linked the episode to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ideology of Hindu nationalism, or Hindutva.

"These ideologues of Hindutva, they are becoming emboldened in a manner that they are now going beyond the region," Kakar said at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York as he took part in the UN General Assembly.

The "unfortunate killing of Mr Singh on Canadian soil is a reflection of that ominous tendency," he said.
"But for obvious economic and strategic reasons, many players in the Western capitals chose to ignore this fact and reality," he said.

Western powers led by the United States have been courting India for years, seeing a natural ally in the billion-plus democracy as concerns mount about China.

Read also: PM apprises UN chief on India’s human rights violations in IIOJK

Separately, caretaker Prime Minister Kakar met with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, apprising him of India’s ongoing human rights’ violations in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).

In a meeting held on the sidelines of the 78th session of the UNGA in New York, the interim prime minister highlighted India’s illegal and unilateral actions of August 5, 2019, where it had abolished the status of Kashmir.

Kakar called for the implementation of the UN Security Council resolutions on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.

The prime minister thanked the secretary-general for his unwavering support during last year’s floods and for co-hosting the Geneva Conference on Pakistan’s Resilient Recovery, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Framework (4RF).

Recognising the grave threat of climate change, the prime minister stressed the importance of the fulfilment of climate finance commitments by developed nations.

Kakar also met with Chinese Vice President Han Zheng on the sidelines of the UNGA session.

Both the leaders expressed satisfaction at the steady development of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects in Pakistan, reiterating their firm commitment to continue working together to realise its shared objectives.

In the meeting, the two sides agreed on the centrality of CPEC for Pakistan’s socio-economic development, expressing satisfaction at the celebratory events held in both countries to mark the 10th anniversary of CPEC.

They also agreed to further deepen their cooperation at the multilateral fora.

The conversation was marked by traditional warmth and cordiality that has been the hallmark of the Pakistan-China All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership.