US official confirms Blinken discussed Sikh activist's murder with Jaishankar in India

In a meeting with India's External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Thursday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged India to assist a Canadian inquiry into the killing of Sikh activist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, earlier on Thursday, confirmed that Blinken would discuss the Indian role in the murder of Nijjar with Jaishankar.

India dismissed Canada's allegations as "absurd," and ties have since strained between the countries, with both governments expelling a diplomat in a tit-for-tat move.

"Blinken raised the Canadian matter in his meeting, (and) urged the Indian government to cooperate with Canada’s investigation," the US official said, though a State Department statement made no mention of the issue.

Soon after returning home from the G20 summit in India, Trudeau accused Indian government agents of being involved in the murder of Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia in June, making the allegations in the Canadian Parliament.

Nijjar, who was deemed a "terrorist" in India, supported the Khalistan cause, an independent homeland for Sikhs to be carved out of India.

Canada's allies, including the US, seem to be treading carefully in this situation which, according to political analysts, is partially due to the fact that Washington and other major countries view India as a check on China's expanding influence.

Blinken met Jaishankar on Thursday afternoon in Washington. Asked directly whether Blinken would bring up the case, Trudeau replied: "The Americans will certainly discuss this matter with the Indian government."

According to Reuters, the US State Department's formal statement on its website after Blinken met his Indian counterpart made no mention of Nijjar's murder or of Canada as a whole.

A brief summary by the State Department about the issues discussed in the meeting between Blinken and Jaishankar, formally called a readout, listed points like India's G20 presidency, the creation of an India-Middle East-Europe corridor and topics like defence, space and clean energy.

Jaishankar said on Tuesday that New Delhi has told Canada it was open to looking into any "specific" or "relevant" information it provides on the killing.

Trudeau, who is yet to publicly share any evidence, said last week he shared the "credible allegations" with India "many weeks ago."

Blinken and US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said last week the US was "deeply concerned" about the allegations raised by Trudeau.

The US ambassador to Canada told Canadian television that some information on the case had been gathered by the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, which includes the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK.