Canada wants to sit in private talks with India to end the diplomatic tension. Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Jolie said this last Tuesday local time. This tension arose due to the killing of Sikh community leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada.
Canada’s foreign minister spoke about the talks at a time when New Delhi asked to evacuate 41 personnel from the country’s Indian mission. They have been asked to evacuate by October 10.
However, neither Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau nor Jolie commented on the accuracy of the news of the evacuation of diplomats. The Financial Times has published this news citing sources related to the Indian government.
Canada’s foreign minister told reporters, “We are in contact with the Indian government. We take the security of Canadian diplomats very seriously. We will keep the communication confidential. Because we think it is best to keep diplomatic talks secret.
Hardeep Singh, the leader of the Khalistan movement, formed to demand the independent state of Punjab in India. In the eyes of the Indian government, he is a ‘terrorist’ and a ‘separatist’. On June 18, he was killed by terrorists outside a Gurudwara in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada.
Recently, Trudeau took part in a debate in the Parliament of Canada and said that Canadian national security officials have “credible information” about the involvement of Indian agents in Hardeep’s murder.
However, the Indian government denied Canada’s allegation, saying Ottawa’s statement was “unrealistic and purposeful”. They said that the Canadian government has not yet presented any evidence to India regarding its claim on Hardeep’s murder.
India has entered into a diplomatic fight with Canada over this. The two countries have taken various measures, including reciprocal diplomatic expulsions, suspension of visas, suspension of trade talks.
According to the Financial Times report, there are 62 Canadian diplomats in India. 41 of them have been asked to evacuate by October 10. Otherwise, New Delhi threatened to withdraw their diplomatic privileges. Apart from this, on September 22, India announced the suspension of issuing new visas to Canadian citizens.
East York, Canada
