KEY POINTS
- New Delhi informed Ottawa that it must withdraw dozens of diplomats by Oct. 10, as per a report
- Diplomatic immunity of diplomats remaining beyond that date may be revoked
- India reportedly wants Canada to reduce its 62 diplomats in the South Asian country by 41
India has reportedly told Canada to repatriate 40 diplomats in a matter of days amid the escalating India-Canada row.
New Delhi informed Ottawa to withdraw the diplomats by Oct. 10. Those staying beyond that date will face the risk of having their diplomatic immunity revoked, a Financial Times report said, citing people familiar with the matter.
India-Canada ties have been strained in recent weeks after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said there were “credible allegations” about India’s involvement in the killing of Indian-born Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Soon after Trudeau made the explosive claims, New Delhi clapped back by calling the allegations baseless and announced a ban on visas for Canadians.
The move to have diplomats repatriated is the latest in the ongoing crisis. Canada, which has 62 diplomats in India, was informed to cut that number down by 41, the report quoted a source as saying.
“Declaring more Canadian diplomats personae non gratae wouldn’t help the situation and would make reducing the emotions associated with this disagreement more difficult,” said Peter Boehm, chair of the Canadian Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade.
Trudeau‘s unsubstantiated claims came after Ottawa’s frustration over not being able to secure India’s cooperation on Nijjar’s murder investigation, according to the outlet.
Canadian national security adviser Jody Thomas reportedly took two trips to India ahead of the G20 in New Delhi in September. India neither admitted nor denied this, the report said, citing people familiar with the meetings.
The Indian government, on the other hand, said it rejected the allegations.
The Indian side also refused to cooperate with the police inquiry during Trudeau’s meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the report added.
S Jaishankar, India’s external affairs minister, said during his trip to the U.S. last week that such operations were not part of India’s foreign policy and that New Delhi was open to looking at any information the Canadian side was willing to provide in connection with Nijjar’s killing.
He also talked about Indian diplomats facing intimidation in Canada.
“Our point is that there is today a climate of violence, an atmosphere of intimidation…Just think about it. We have had smoke bombs thrown at the mission. We have had our consulates…violence in front of them. Individuals have been targeted and intimidated. There are posters put up about people,” Jaishankar said.
