British PM Sunak Calls For De-Escalation Amid India-Canada Diplomatic Row Over Killing Of Khalistani Terrorist

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has hoped for a de-escalation of the India-Canada diplomatic row in a phone call with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The conversation mainly focused on the standoff concerning the killing of a Khalistani terrorist in June.

Sunak spoke with Trudeau on Friday (6 October) and was "updated on the situation relating to Canadian diplomats in India", according to a statement by UK Prime Minister's Office.

Sunak "reaffirmed the UK’s position that all countries should respect sovereignty and the rule of law, including the principles of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations," the statement said.

This comes in the wake of Trudeau's statement in the Canadian Parliament last month, in which he said that the country's security forces were "actively pursuing credible allegations" linking Indian government agents to the murder of Khalistan Tiger Force leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia in June.

However, India strongly rejected Trudeau's allegations, calling them "absurd" and "motivated".

The phone call between Sunak and Trudeau also comes days after Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami was blocked from a planned visit to Glasgow Gurdwara in Scotland last week by pro-Khalistan extremists.