(Ottawa) Canada has significantly reduced its diplomatic presence in India in recent hours, an undeniable sign that tensions between Ottawa and New Delhi are far from easing.
Posted at 2:16 p.m.
Canada was therefore responding to the Indian government’s request that Ottawa repatriate a significant number of diplomats so that the size of Canada’s mission in India would be comparable to that maintained by India in Canada, CBC reported.
Result: Around forty Canadian diplomats left Indian territory. Her departure comes after two weeks of talks between the two countries aimed at establishing diplomatic “parity”.
Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly will comment on this latest turn in Canada-India relations this afternoon.
India says it has only 21 diplomats stationed in Canada, while the Canadian government has 62 in India. Canadian diplomats are stationed at the High Commission in New Delhi and four consulates.
There has been a diplomatic cold between Canada and India since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed in the House of Commons on September 18 that Canada had “credible” allegations that agents linked to the Indian government were involved in the murder of a Canadian of Sikh origin, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in June in Burnaby, British Columbia.
New Delhi strongly rejected the allegations, calling them “absurd.”
New Delhi had given Canada until October 10 to send back at least 41 of its 62 serving diplomats. The Trudeau government had maintained hopes of finding a compromise by insisting on diplomatic dialogue. But the Modi government has not thrown in the towel.