Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reiterated on Thursday that Canada is not looking to provoke or cause trouble after India suspended all visa services for Canadian citizens. India also told Canada to reduce its diplomatic staff following the rift between the countries after Prime Minister Trudeau said India may be involved in the killing of a Canadian citizen.
Ties between Ottawa and New Delhi, key strategic security and trade partners, have hit their lowest point since Mr. Trudeau this week said he had “credible suspicions” that India was involved in the killing of a separatist leader. Sikh within Canada.
Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a 45-year-old Canadian national who had been wanted by India for years, was shot dead in June outside the temple he ran in Surrey, a suburb of Vancouver.
“We are not looking to provoke or cause trouble, but we are clear about the importance of the rule of law and clear about the importance of protecting Canadians and protecting our values,” Prime Minister Trudeau said in New York while attending UN General Assembly.
Mr Trudeau’s accusation sparked a diplomatic crisis on Monday, with each country expelling a diplomat. India denied the allegation and called it absurd, while now announcing the suspension of Indian visa service for Canadians.
The suspension means that Canadians who do not have visas will not be able to travel to India. In 2021, 80,000 Canadian tourists visited India, making them the fourth largest group, according to India’s Bureau of Immigration.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Arindam Bagchi called for a reduction in Canadian diplomats in India, saying they outnumbered India’s personnel in Canada.
The Canadian High Commission in New Delhi said on Thursday that all consulates in India are open and continue to serve customers. The commission said some of its diplomats had received threats on social media. The commission added that Canada expects India to provide security for its diplomats and consular officers working there.
On Wednesday, India warned its citizens to be cautious when traveling to Canada due to “increasing anti-India activities and politically motivated hate crimes”.
Canada has yet to provide any evidence of India’s involvement in the killings. India’s security and intelligence branches have long been active in South Asia and are suspected of a number of killings in Pakistan. But staging the killing of a Canadian citizen in Canada, home to nearly 2 million people of Indian origin, would be unprecedented.
India has criticized Canada over the years for giving free rein to Sikh separatists, including Mr. Nijjar. New Delhi had accused him of links to terrorism, a charge he had denied.
Nijjar, a plumber by trade, was also a leader in what remains of a once-strong movement to create an independent Sikh country, known as Khalistan. A bloody Sikh insurgency rocked northern India in the 1970s and 1980s until it was crushed by a government crackdown that killed thousands, including prominent Sikh leaders.
At the time of his murder, Mr. Nijjar was working to organize an unofficial referendum of the Sikh diaspora on independence from India.
In March, the government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi summoned the Canadian high commissioner in New Delhi, its top diplomat in the country, to complain about pro-independence protests by Sikhs in Canada.
On Wednesday, India’s National Investigation Agency said it has stepped up its crackdown on Sikh insurgents operating in India.
The agency announced rewards of up to 1 million rupees, or $12,000, for information leading to the arrest of five insurgents, one of whom is believed to be based in neighboring Pakistan.
The agency accused them of extorting money from businesses for a banned Sikh organization, Babbar Khalsa International, and murder in India. “They have also established a network of operatives in various countries to support their terrorist activities in India,” it said in a statement, without naming any country.
India accuses Pakistan of supporting insurgencies in Kashmir and Punjab, a charge Islamabad denies.