India on Thursday suspended issue of visas to Canadian citizens “till further notice”. A notice by BLS International – that manages online visa application centres in Canada – said “Due to operational reasons… Indian visa services have been suspended till further notice”.
This comes as India and Canada are locked in a row over Ottawa’s claim it has “credible allegations” linking agents of New Delhi to the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a pro-Khalistan Sikh terrorist. India has rejected the allegation as “absurd” and “motivated”.
It is not yet clear if the suspension of visas is linked to that row.
Relations between India and Canada were already tense after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s conversation with his Canadian counterpart, Justin Trudeau, at the G20 Summit in Delhi this month.
The PM expressed India’s “strong concerns about continuing anti-India activities” in that country.
On Monday, Mr Trudeau said his country’s security agencies had information indicating “agents of the Indian government” had assassinated Nijjar, who was a Canadian citizen.
“Any involvement of a foreign government in the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil is an unacceptable violation of our sovereignty. It is contrary to the fundamental rules by which free, open, and democratic societies conduct themselves,” Mr Trudeau told his government.
The Indian government “completely rejected” the Canadian PM’s allegations and underlined its concerns over their (Canada’s) political figures openly expressing sympathy for “such elements”.
“Such unsubstantiated allegations seek to shift the focus from Khalistani terrorists and extremists, who have been provided shelter in Canada and continue to threaten India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The inaction of the Canadian Government on this matter has been a long-standing and continuing concern,” said a foreign ministry statement.
The two countries then each expelled a senior official; Ottawa ordered a senior official of the Research and Analysis Wing to leave the country and India, on Tuesday, expelled a top Canadian diplomat for “interference… in our internal matters and their involvement in anti-India activities”.
On Wednesday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met PM Modi in the new Parliament building to discuss India-Canada ties.
