Indian authorities reported Thursday that they have suspended issuing visas to Canadian citizens amid rising tensions between the two countries over the controversy surrounding the death of Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who held a Canadian passport and was killed in June murdered in British Columbia (Canada). “Due to operational reasons, visa services to India have been suspended until further notice,” the company responsible for issuing Indian applications said in a brief statement.
For their part, Canadian authorities have announced that they will reduce the number of diplomats currently in India due to “security issues” after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau suggested that Indian authorities were behind the assassination of the independence leader.
“Given the current development of relations and increasing tensions, the decision has been made to ensure the safety of our diplomats,” Canadian Foreign Ministry spokesman Jean-Pierre Godbout said, according to the National newspaper. “Out of an abundance of caution, we have decided to temporarily adjust the presence of our diplomatic staff in India,” he said, before explaining that Canadian representatives had received threats on social networks. The Indian government, for its part, has requested the reduction of the Canadian diplomatic mission. “We have informed the Government of Canada that our mutual diplomatic presence must be of parity of strength and rank. Their numbers here are much higher than here in Canada,” Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Arindam told Bagchi at a press conference on Thursday.
On Monday, Trudeau said Canadian intelligence agencies had “credible” information about alleged involvement of Indian authorities in Nijjar’s murder, sparking criticism in New Delhi. Nijjar was shot dead on June 18 outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, British Columbia. He was also the leader of the Khalistan Tiger Force, a pro-independence group seeking secession from the historic Sikh Empire in Khalistan and had been preparing attacks in India’s Punjab province.
For its part, the Indian government has “strongly” rejected the allegations and expressed “concern” that senior officials in the country have openly expressed “sympathy” for such theories.
“Such baseless allegations are intended to divert attention from Khalistani terrorists and extremists who have found refuge in Canada and continue to threaten India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. “The Canadian government’s inaction has long been a concern,” Indian authorities claim.
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