The Indian government has insisted Ottawa provide evidence to support its assertions while vehemently rejecting the “absurd” and “motivated” accusations that it was responsible for Mr. Nijjar’s death.
After an almost two-month break, India has started offering electronic visa services to Canadian citizens again, as per sources on Wednesday. In the midst of the ongoing diplomatic dispute over Canada’s allegations that “agents of the Indian government” were engaged in the June death of Canadian citizen and Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in that nation, visa services had been suspended on September 21.
This indicates that all visa services, including those for tourists, are now available again. Last month, services for four had been restored, including business and medical visas.
Canada’s nationals could no longer obtain visas from India as of September 30.
This came about following a diplomatic spat between the two nations, in which they each expelled a senior diplomat and India demanded “parity” in the number of senior personnel assigned to each nation’s missions.
In addition, the two countries exchanged travel advisories. India warned its nationals in Canada to visit with “utmost caution” due to the prevalence of “politically-condoned” hate crimes.
(Image Source : NDTV)
The Indian government has insisted Ottawa provide evidence to support its assertions while vehemently rejecting the “absurd” and “motivated” accusations that it was responsible for Nijjar’s murder.
Last week, India’s demand was reaffirmed by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, who made the statement, “We are not ruling out an investigation… (but) if you (the Canadian government) have a reason to make such an allegation, please share the evidence with us,” at an event in the UK. This has been pushing India to cooperate with Canada’s inquiry. We’ll consider all you have to give.
Since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau‘s major declaration that his government has “credible accusations” linking Indian government “agents” to Nijjar’s killing, ties between India and Canada have suffered greatly.
The long-pending trade negotiations between the two nations have also been put on hold.
Canada’s Trade Minister, Mary Ng, stated that the country is “focused” on this matter, so discussions on it, which have been on hold since September, might stay on hold. Canada requested the “pause” prior to Mr. Trudeau’s assertion.
Jaishankar’s response to the accusations
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said earlier this month that while Canada should present proof to back up its allegations that India was complicit in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, India is not ruling out undertaking an investigation.
Jaishankar emphasized the importance of reliable proof and declared unequivocally that the Indian government was not involved in Nijjar’s death. The Indian External Affairs Minister responded to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s accusations by saying he spoke with his Canadian colleague, Melanie Joly, about the issue and asked the Canadian government to produce any concrete proof. He emphasized that although India is willing to investigate the situation, no evidence has been provided up to this point.
I have now also spoken with my counterpart about Mr. Trudeau’s case. And we’ve said to them, look, please share the evidence with us if you have a basis for making such an accusation. We are considering whatever they may have to give and are not ruling out conducting an investigation. According to Jaishankar, they haven’t.
Relations between India and Canada
Although the relationship between India and Canada is extensive, Sikh separatists who support the Khalistan Movement and demand an independent Sikh state in India have frequently strained relations between the two countries. More recently, in September 2023, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau claimed that Indian spies had killed a Sikh separatist leader, which set off diplomatic problems.
