Amid continuing diplomatic stand-off between the two countries, India has reportedly asked Canada to withdraw nearly 40 of its diplomats from India and set the deadline as October 10. Canada has 62 diplomats in India at present.
The ties between India and Canada came under severe strain following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegations of a “potential” involvement of Indian agents in the killing of designated Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
India rejected the allegations as “absurd” and “motivated” and expelled a senior Canadian diplomat in a tit-for-tat move to Ottawa’s expulsion of an Indian official over the case. Nijjar, the chief of the banned Khalistan Tiger Force, was shot dead by two masked gunmen outside a gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada on June 18 .
Trudeau on Tuesday said Canada was not looking to “escalate” the situation with India amid the diplomatic row between the two countries over the killing of a Khalistani terrorist and asserted that his government will continue to have “constructive relations” with New Delhi.
Speaking to reporters in Ottawa, Trudeau also said that it is important for Canada to have diplomats on the ground in India, amid a report by London-based Financial Times that New Delhi wants as many as 41 of 62 remaining Canadian diplomats out of the country, the Toronto Sun newspaper reported.
“Obviously, we are going through an extremely challenging time with India right now,” Trudeau was quoted as saying by the Canadian newspaper.
He, however, did not confirm the media report that India has asked Canada to withdraw 41 of 62 diplomats from the country.
Meanwhile, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly told reporters in Ottawa that the government believes in having a “strong diplomatic footprint” in India.
“We are in contact with the government of India. We take Canadian diplomats’ safety very seriously, and we will continue to engage privately because we think that diplomatic conversations are best when they remain private,” she said.
“In moments of tensions — because indeed there are tensions between both our governments more than ever — it is important that diplomats be on the ground, and that is why we believe in the importance of having a strong diplomatic footprint in India,” she was quoted as saying by Global News.
On September 21, India asked Canada to downsize its diplomatic presence in the country. Announcing the measure, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had said the size of Canadian diplomatic staff in India is larger than what New Delhi has in Canada and that there should be a “parity in strength and rank equivalence” in the mutual presence.
“We have informed the Canadian government that there should be parity in strength and rank equivalence in our mutual diplomatic presence. Their numbers here are very much higher than ours in Canada. The details of this are being worked out,” Bagchi had said.
India also announced temporarily suspending issuance of visas to Canadian citizens.
The India-Canada ties were reeling under some strain for the last few months in view of increasing activities of the pro-Khalistani elements in the North American country.
India says the Trudeau government is not addressing its genuine concerns.
Trudeau, who is the leader of the Liberal Party, shares power with Indian-origin and Canadian Sikh leader Jagmeet Singh, who heads the New Democratic Party (NDP).
While there was no official word from India and Canada, it was learnt India has asked the Canadian diplomats to leave the country by October 10. It also came to light that New Delhi has warned that diplomatic immunity will be withdrawn if the Canadian diplomats do not leave the country by the deadline.
Reports including the one in The Financial Times also said Canada has 62 diplomats in India, while New Delhi has told them to reduce the headcount to 41 at their High Commission.
“Declaring more Canadian diplomats personae non gratae wouldn’t help the situation and would make reducing the emotions associated with this disagreement more difficult,” Peter Boehm, chair of the Canadian Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade, was quoted as saying by the newspaper.
Trudeau does not expect to back down, said Boehm, adding that India saw Canada as “an easy mark”. He asserted that New Delhi was aware of Ottawa’s limited capacity to retaliate since the latter has a minority Government.
“India knows our capacity to retaliate is limited, that we have a minority Government and is aware of the consequent politics at play. And, of course, India has an election on the horizon,” Boehms was quoted by as saying.
On previous occasions, India said it wanted an equal number of diplomats posted in the country and Canada. At its High Commission in Delhi, Canada has several dozen diplomats posted compared to what India has in Ottawa.
An unprecedented diplomatic crisis emerged between India and Canada after Trudeau on September 18 said Canadian security agencies had been actively pursuing “credible allegations of a potential link” between Indian government agents and the killing of Nijjar.
India expelled a Canadian diplomat in a tit-for-tat response to Ottawa’s expulsion of an Indian official over the case. New Delhi also suspended visa services for Canadian nationals.
On September 26, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in a veiled dig at Canada, asked the UN member states not to allow “political convenience” to determine responses to terrorism, extremism and violence. He made the comments while addressing the 78th session of the UN General Assembly in New York.