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India signals determination to reduce Canada’s diplomatic presence
New Delhi has described Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau’s allegation about the involvement of Indian government agents in Nijjar’s killing as “absurd” and said it is willing to consider any information provided by Ottawa on the incident
New Delhi: India on Thursday signalled its determination to reduce Canada’s diplomatic presence in the country amid tensions over Canadian allegations of an Indian link to the killing of Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, saying discussions are underway to achieve the downsizing.
Ealier this week, the Indian side asked Canada to withdraw several dozen diplomats, marking a further escalation in the row. Reports have said Canada was asked to withdraw 41 diplomats by October 10, failing which their diplomatic immunity will be withdrawn.
New Delhi has described Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau’s allegation about the involvement of Indian government agents in Nijjar’s killing as “absurd” and said it is willing to consider any information provided by Ottawa on the incident.
Soon after Trudeau’s accusation, both countries carried out tit-for-tat expulsions of senior diplomats, while India suspended all visa services for Canadian nationals and asked Canada to downsize its diplomatic presence in the country.
“As we have mentioned earlier, given the much higher diplomatic presence of Canadian diplomats...and their continuing interference in our internal matters, we have sought parity in our respective diplomatic presence. Discussions are ongoing on the modalities of achieving this,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi told a regular media briefing.
Bagchi didn’t specifically deny reports about Canada being asked to withdraw 41 of its 62 diplomats in India by October 10, saying he “would not like to get into the details of diplomatic conversations”. He added, “Given that Canadian diplomatic presence is very much higher, we would assume there would be a reduction.”
Asked if the reduction of Canadian diplomats could affect visa services for Indian nationals, Bagchi replied: “Let me clarify in the context of the parity, it’s up to the Canadian side who they choose to staff their high commission with.”
Responding to another question on whether Canada has officially provided any information to back up its allegation on Nijjar’s killing, Bagchi reiterated external affairs minister S Jaishankar’s remarks that the Indian side is “open to looking at” any “specific or relevant information” shared by Ottawa.
The Indian side, Bagchi said, is focusing on two factors – ensuring security for Indian diplomats in Canada so they can function normally and achieving parity in diplomatic presence.
Canada has so far not retaliated against India’s actions, and Trudeau has sought to calm the diplomatic tensions, saying Ottawa is “not looking to provoke or escalate”. Canadian foreign minister Melanie Joly has said her country wants private talks with India to resolve the diplomatic row.
Asked about the reports that India has sought the withdrawal of 41 Canadian diplomats, Joly told reporters this week: “We take Canadian diplomats’ safety very seriously, and we will continue to engage privately because we think diplomatic conversations are best when they remain private.”
The diplomatic spat has cratered India-Canada relations, which were already at a low because of Indian anger over the Canadian side’s perceived reluctance to crackdown on pro-Khalistan elements who have targeted India’s diplomats and missions in recent months.
Bagchi said India has been taking up concerns about the security of its diplomats and diplomatic premises as well as the issue of people wanted by India’s security or judicial system with Canada and the UK and will continue to do so. In this context, he referred to a protest by pro-Khalistan elements in the UK on October 2 and said India has again taken up the security of its diplomats and premises with British authorities.
“The issue is about security and ensuring that our diplomats are able to function normally, and our premises are safe and that the [Indian] community is not targeted,” he said.
Asked about reports that British police had concluded that there was “no criminal acitvity” when radical Sikh activists barred the Indian high commissioner from entering a gurdwara in Scotland last month, Bagchi pointed out that the Indian mission had said the envoy “was stopped and threatened”.
He added, “We cannot accept that and that is why we raised this with UK authorities and we will continue doing it so that our diplomats can carry out their functions normally without any hindrances and without facing any security threat.”
