ANKARA

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Tuesday she had discussed with her Indian counterpart Canada’s allegations that India targeted Sikh activists on its soil.

Speaking to media after her meeting with New Delhi’s top diplomat, S. Jaishankar, at Parliament House in Canberra, Wong said she had discussed the allegations.

New Delhi had previously denied Ottawa’s allegation that Indian Interior Minister Amit Shah ordered the targeting of Sikh activists living in Canada.

In response to a question, Wong said her message to the Sikh community is that they have “the right to be safe and respected, no matter who they are in our country; it is the essence of our multicultural democracy,” reads a published transcript. by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs.

“We have clearly expressed our concerns about the allegations being investigated,” she said, adding that Canberra respects the Canadian legal process.

“We are conveying our views to India as you would expect us to do. And we have a principled position on issues such as the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary and also, frankly, the sovereignty of all countries,” Wong added.

Australia maintains a close intelligence-sharing relationship with Canada as a member of the Five Eyes alliance which also includes the United States, Britain and New Zealand.

Jaishankar, for his part, accused Canada of developing a pattern of making allegations “without providing details.”

Canada put Indian diplomats under surveillance, which is “unacceptable,” he said.

He alleged that “political space” is given to extremist voices in Canada.

“So we believe in freedoms, we also believe that freedom should not be abused, and we discussed it exactly in this sense,” he added.

The Anadolu Agency website contains only part of the information offered to subscribers of the AA Information Distribution System (HAS), and in summary form. Please contact us for subscription options.