New Delhi: Canada is pulling out diplomats from New Delhi, following a request by India, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Thursday.
Earlier in the day, Canadian foreign ministry spokesperson Jean-Pierre Godbout was reported to have said that since the nation’s diplomats in India were “receiving threats” on social media, Ottawa was “taking action to ensure their safety”.
This comes amid rising diplomatic tensions between the two countries over the killing of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June in Canada.
On Thursday, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that both countries will be reducing their strength and rank of diplomats in New Delhi and Ottawa for mutual staff parity, “pursuant” to a request by India.
ThePrint reached out to the Canadian High Commission in India, which stated that “due to heightened tensions”, Ottawa has “decided to temporarily adjust staff presence in India”.
“In light of the current environment where tensions have heightened, we are taking action to ensure the safety of our diplomats. With some diplomats having received threats on various social media platforms, Global Affairs Canada is assessing its staff complement in India,” the high commission said in a communication.
“In the context of respect for obligations under the Vienna conventions, we expect India to provide for the security of our accredited diplomats and consular officers in India, just as we are for theirs here,” it added.
However, the high commission and all consulates in India continue to remain open and operational.
As tensions rose between the two countries, India Thursday also suspended its visa services in Canada.
Visa services provider BLS International issued a notice to users stating: “Due to operational reasons, with effect from 21 September, 2023, Indian visa services (in Canada) have been suspended till further notice.”
While the message briefly disappeared from the website, it returned shortly after.
Ties between the two countries hit a new low Wednesday, following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegations about India having a role in the death of Nijjar.
India rejected these allegations, calling them “absurd and motivated”, and issued a travel advisory for Indian nationals and students in Canada.
The MEA advised Indians there “to exercise extreme caution and remain vigilant” amid “growing anti-India activities and politically-condoned hate crimes and criminal violence in Canada”.
Nijjar, 46, hailing from a village in Punjab’s Jalandhar district, was shot dead by two assailants near a gurdwara in Surrey on 18 June while he was returning home, according to media reports. This sparked protests in Canada, where his supporters pointed fingers at the Indian government and disputed claims that Nijjar’s death had to do with gang violence.
For the first time in roughly a decade, India expelled a diplomat from a western country Tuesday when it ordered Olivier Sylvestre — believed to be an agent of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service working in the Canadian mission in Delhi — to leave within five days.
This was seen as a tit-for-tat move after the Trudeau government expelled Pavan Kumar Rai — described by its foreign ministry office as the chief of Indian intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing in Canada.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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