Canada Bans Australian Media Outlet After It Airs Jaishankar's Address

In a fresh development that can be surely said to have anti-India dimensions, Canada on Thursday (November 7) stopped broadcast of Australia Today just hours after it aired India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's joint press conference with his Australian counterpart Penny Wong was telecast on media outlet.

Randhir Jaiswal, the spokesperson of Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) confirmed this during the weekly press conference at the ministry in Delhi.

"...Yes, you heard it correctly. We also understand that the social media handles and pages of this particular outlet, which is an important diaspora outlet, have been blocked and are no longer available for viewers in Canada. This happened just a few hours after this outlet carried a press conference of the External Affairs Minister along with Penny Wong. The outlet also published several articles on the visit of the External Affairs Minister, as well as an interview with him. So, we were surprised. It seems strange to us..," said Jaiswal when he was asked abut the development.

Relations between India and Canada, nations with cordial ties before, are currently strained. The souring of relations was especially seen after Canadian PM Justin Trudeau alleged last year that Indian 'agents' were involved in the murder of pro-Khalistan terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada. India has trashed these allegations and has asked Canada to provide evidence, something which it is yet to give.

Violence has been on the rise in Canada over the period after Trudeau's claims. Pro-Khalistan protesters have been attacking places of worship and even events organises by Indian consulate in Canada.