India Canada Row: Canada seeks ‘pvt talks’ after India asks it to recall 41 diplomatics by Oct 10 | India News

NEW DELHI: Canada is likely to recall dozens of diplomats after the Indian government asked Ottawa to ensure parity in diplomatic presence in the two countries. India’s call for downsizing of the missions followed the spat over the killing of a pro-Khalistan leader in Vancouver area and the allegation by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that India may have had a role in it.
While both sides did not comment on the number of diplomats India wanted out, a report in Financial Times from Ottawa quoted an unidentified official to say that Canada had 62 diplomats in India and that the Indian government had asked it reduce that by 41 people by October 10.That would bring the number down to 21, which is close to roughly the number of Indian diplomats posted in the North American country. According to the report, India also threatened to revoke the diplomatic immunity of the diplomats if they don’t leave the country by October 10.

Canada has so far officially not acknowledged that it has been asked by India to cut its mission strength. The high commission had said earlier that with some diplomats having received threats on various social media platforms, Canada was assessing its “staff complement” in India and, out of an abundance of caution, decided to “temporarily” adjust staff presence in India.

Canada has also not indicated yet that it’s looking to shut consular operations in India. India has also suspended visa services in Canada citing threat to Indian diplomats from Khalistan supporters. The action followed Trudeau’s allegation in Parliament, a week after his visit to India for the G20 summit, that there were “credible allegations” of India’s involvement in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

Indian government sources here also reiterated that Canada had shared no specific evidence about the involvement of any Indian agent’s role in the murder, even as the US state department on Monday again urged India to cooperate with the Canadian probe.

Canadian media had earlier reported that Ottawa has intercepts of conversations involving Indian diplomats that point to official involvement in Nijjar’s shooting last June. “Ottawa is limited in what it can share with the Indian government, partly to protect the sources and methods used to collect the intelligence, but also to avoid compromising the murder investigation, according to people familiar with the matter,” said the report in Financial Times.