New Delhi had requested the repatriation of scores of foreign service personnel over a dispute involving the murder of a Sikh separatist, India revealed on Thursday that it has demanded a further decrease in Canada’s diplomatic presence.
India demands Canadian diplomats: When Canada suggested that the Indian government may have been involved in the June assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar near Vancouver, relations between Delhi and Ottawa took a severe hit.
The repercussions led to tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions and a vehement denial from India, which referred to any allegations that it was involved in Nijjar’s murder as “absurd.”
Arindam Bagchi, the head of the Indian foreign ministry’s press office, declined to corroborate a Financial Times article from earlier this week claiming that Canada had been ordered to return 41 of its 62 diplomats by October 10.
However, he acknowledged that India “assumed that there would be a reduction” in Canada’s participation after New Delhi’s request for Ottawa to send an equal number of ambassadors to the region.
At a routine press briefing, he told reporters, “Given the much higher diplomatic presence of Canadian diplomats here and their continued interference in our internal affairs, we have sought parity in our respective diplomatic presence.”
India has already advised its citizens not to visit certain regions of Canada and has momentarily halted processing visa requests for Canada.
“Canadian Prime Minister Addresses an ‘Extremely Difficult’ Scenario Affecting US-India Relations”
The scenario has been referred to as “extremely difficult” by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who also stated on Tuesday that Ottawa was attempting to prevent an escalation of the issue.
The scandal has hindered US government efforts to improve relations with India, which have improved substantially in recent years.
New Delhi is seen as an important ally by Washington in the fight against Chinese hegemony in the Asia-Pacific region. Both belong to the Quad strategic alliance, which also includes Australia and Japan.
According to the US news outlet Politico, Washington’s ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti, had issued a warning that relations “could get worse for a time” and might need a reduction in interaction with Indian authorities.
The reports were denied by a representative for the US embassy in New Delhi.
The spokesperson declared that “Ambassador Garcetti is working diligently every day to deepen the partnership between the people and governments of the United States and India.”