OTTAWA: Canada’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly has said that India threatened to revoke diplomatic immunity for all but 21 of Canada’s diplomats and their families by Friday.
She said New Delhi’ move had compelled Ottawa to recall the remaining personnel from India.
Canada announced on Thursday that it has withdrawn 41 of its diplomats from India, marking a significant deterioration in bilateral relations.
Relations between the two countries has strained following Canada’s allegations that Indian secret agents were involved in June 2023 killing of a Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar associated with the Khalistan Movement who was a Canadian citizen.
“We have facilitated their safe departure from India. This means that our diplomats and their families have now left.”
Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar had last month expressed India’s willingness to examine any evidence presented by Canada. He also noted, “We have actually been badgering the Canadians. We’ve given them loads of information about organized crime leadership which operates out of Canada,” referring to Sikh separatist elements.
The Sikh separatist movement, which seeks an independent state of Khalistan, has largely waned within India, where security forces used deadly force to quell the insurgency in the 1989s.
Sikh community members settled in different parts of the world including Canada, USA and Europe as well as Australia have been holding protest rallies against the Indian government for killing Nijjar.
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