A tense quarrel over the murder of a Sikh separatist on Canadian soil led Canada to announce on Thursday that it had removed 41 diplomats from India.
According to Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly, New Delhi intended to suspend diplomatic immunity for all but 21 of Canada’s diplomats and their families by Friday, forcing Ottawa to withdraw the remaining diplomats.
Their safe departure from India was made possible by us, Joly continued. This indicates that our ambassadors, together with their families, have departed.
Since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last month openly connected Indian intelligence to the murder of Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar, claims New Delhi has labeled “absurd,” relations between India and Canada have suffered.
Nijjar, who favored carving out a separate Sikh state of India, was sought by Indian authorities for alleged involvement in terrorism and a murderous plot.
Joly stated on Wednesday that revoking the diplomatic immunity of 41 diplomats was “not only unprecedented, but also against international law,” but added that Canada had no intention of reciprocating in like in order to “aggravate the situation.”
She added, “Canada will continue to engage with India and defend international law, which is applicable to all countries.
The government’s insistence on reducing Canada’s diplomatic representation, according to the foreign ministry of India, was within “international norms.”
“The state of our bilateral relations, the much higher number of Canadian diplomats in India, and their continued interference in our internal affairs warrant a parity in mutual diplomatic presence,” it stated.
India has been asked to assist in the inquiry by Canada, but New Delhi has disputed the claims and taken countermeasures, such as ceasing to provide Canadians with visa services.
An Indian diplomat was also expelled from Ottawa due to the incident.
Assaulting the Canadians
Last month in New York, Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar stated that his nation would be open to reviewing any proof offered by Canada.
“We’ve been bugging the Canadians, in fact. We’ve given them a ton of information regarding Canadian-based organized crime leadership, said Jaishankar, referring to Sikh separatists.
Our diplomats are truly under threat, and our consulates have been attacked, he continued.
The Indian government referred to the allegations surrounding the murder as “absurd” and recommended its citizens to avoid certain regions of Canada “given the increase in anti-Indian activities.”
Additionally, New Delhi briefly halted handling Canadian visa requests.
Two masked assailants shot and killed Nijjar, a 1997 immigrant to Canada who became a citizen in 2015, in the parking lot of a Sikh temple outside of Vancouver in June.
Approximately 2% of the population of Canada is made up of the 770,000 Sikhs who live there; a vociferous minority has called for the establishment of Khalistan as a separate state.
In India, where security forces used lethal force to quell an uprising in the state of Punjab in the 1980s, the Sikh separatist movement is virtually over.
Last month, hundreds of Sikh protesters gathered in front of Indian embassies across Canada, setting flags on fire and stomping images of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Washington, a key ally of Canada, is in a precarious position as a result of tensions between Ottawa and New Delhi since it is trying to limit Chinese dominance in the region by forging closer ties with India.
