The statement from the high commission came soon after an Indian company published a notice that it was suspending visa services for Canadian citizens following a notice from the Indian mission. It then withdrew it minutes later before re-publishing it again.
BLS International, an Indian company offering visa facilities, said on Wednesday the notice from the Indian mission in Canada cited "operational reasons" for suspension of visa services "till further notice".
Spokespersons for the Canadian high commission and the Indian foreign ministry did not respond to queries on the two developments.
Tensions between the two countries escalated earlier this week when Canada said that it was "actively pursuing credible allegations" linking Indian government agents to the murder of a Sikh separatist leader in British Columbia in June.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government categorically rejected Canada's suspicions that Indian agents had links to the alleged murder.
With both nations expelling a diplomat each, analysts said relations between the two countries have touched the lowest point.
"In light of the current environment where tensions have heightened, we are taking action to ensure the safety of our diplomats," the Canadian high commission said in a statement
"With some diplomats having received threats on various social media platforms, Global Affairs Canada is assessing its staff complement in India," it said, referring to the Canadian government department which manages Ottawa's diplomatic and consular relations.
"As a result, and out of an abundance of caution, we have decided to temporarily adjust staff presence in India," it said, without elaborating on what it meant by adjusting staff presence.
"In the context of respect for obligations under the Vienna conventions, we expect India to provide for the security of our accredited diplomats and consular officers in India, just as we are for theirs here."
After the tit-for-tat expulsions of senior diplomats, the two countries issued tit-for-tat travel advisories on Tuesday and Wednesday, with India urging its nationals in Canada, especially students, to exercise "utmost caution".
The tensions were sparked on Monday after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Ottawa was investigating "credible allegations" about the potential involvement of Indian government agents in the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia in June.
Canadian officials have so far declined to say why they believe India could be linked to Nijjar's murder.
New Delhi has also not provided evidence or details of specific incidents leading to its travel advisory that refers to "growing anti-India activities and politically condoned hate crimes and criminal violence in Canada".
Canada is a safe country, its public safety minister Dominic LeBlanc said hours after India's advisory.
Canada has the largest population of Sikhs outside the Indian state of Punjab, with about 770,000 people reporting Sikhism as their religion in the 2021 census.
Some Indian analysts say Ottawa does not curb Sikh protesters as they are a politically influential group.
The spat is also threatening trade ties, with talks on a proposed trade deal frozen last week.
Canada is India's 17th largest foreign investor, pouring in more than $3.6 billion since 2000, while Canadian portfolio investors have invested billions of dollars in Indian stock and debt markets.
Since 2018, India has been the largest source country for international students in Canada.
In 2022, their number rose 47% to nearly 320,000, accounting for about 40% of total overseas students, the Canadian Bureau of International Education says, which also helps universities and colleges provide a subsidised education to domestic students.
Industry estimates show the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between Canada and India could boost two-way trade by as much as $6.5 billion, yielding a GDP gain of $3.8 billion to $5.9 billion for Canada by 2035.
Reporting by Sakshi Dayal, Shivam Patel, Rupam Jain and Krishn Kaushik; Writing by YP Rajesh Editing by Shri Navaratnam
Despite Canada’s explosive allegations that India may have been involved in the killing of a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil, its closest allies are muted reaction about what happened.
Most are calling for a full investigation, but none — neither the US, Britain, Australia nor New Zealand — has echoed the allegations of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
As experts pointed out, these days, India is just too important to alienate.
The Biden administration and governments of other allies want to maintain strong ties with India because of its economic might and as a counterweight to China’s rising assertiveness.
In a statement, the White House says it is “deeply concerned” about allegations and encourages India to cooperate in any investigation.
The Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara temple in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, on September 19, 2023.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on September 19, demanded that India treat with "utmost seriousness" Canada's allegations of New Delhi's possible involvement in the slaying of a Sikh exile, a concern echoed by Washington.
The Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara temple in Surrey, British Columbia, was the home temple of Hardeep Singh Nijjar before he was slain last June 2023 [Don MacKinnon/AFP]
Sikh community in Canada reacts to brewing diplomatic row between Ottawa and New Delhi
Members of the Sikh community in Surrey, a city in Canada’s British Columbia that was home to the slain separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, have accused the Indian government of meddling with the affairs of the their group.
As Canadian police continues to investigate Nijjar’s killing last June, India has angrily pushed back against accusations that its state agents were involved in the killing.
In this report, Al Jazeera’s Shihab Rattansi visited Nijjar’s hometown of Surrey and spoke to some of the residents there.
The killing of a Sikh separatist leader in Canada has put a spotlight on the decades-old campaign for the creation of an independent Sikh homeland called “Khalistan”.
The movement backed by Hardeep Singh Nijjar wants an independent Sikh state carved out of India. It dates back to India and Pakistan’s independence in 1947 when the idea was pushed forward in negotiations preceding the partition of the Punjab region between the two new countries.
The Sikh religion was founded in Punjab in the late 15th century and currently has about 25 million followers worldwide. Sikhs form a majority of Punjab’s population but are a minority in India, comprising 2 percent of its population of 1.4 billion.
Sikh separatists demand that their homeland Khalistan, meaning “the land of the pure”, be created out of Punjab.
The demand has resurfaced many times, most prominently during a violent insurgency in the 1970s and 1980s which paralysed Punjab for over a decade.
The Khalistan movement is considered a security threat by the Indian government. The bloodiest episode in the conflict between the government and Sikh separatists occurred in 1984, and the assassination of then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh guards triggered a massive government crackdown of Sikh militants.
.Who was Hardeep Singh Nijjar whose killing triggered India-Canada tensions?
The killing of Canada-based Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar earlier this year has triggered angry war of words between India and Canada in recent days, following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s suggestion that government agents from India may have played a role in the incident.
Nijjar, 45, was shot dead outside a Sikh temple on June 18 in Surrey, a Vancouver suburb with a large Sikh population, three years after India had designated him as a “terrorist”.
Nijjar supported the demand for a Sikh homeland in India’s northern state of Punjab, the birthplace of the Sikh religion, which borders Pakistan.
He was reportedly organising an unofficial referendum in India for an independent Sikh nation at the time of this death.
Click here to learn more about Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s background and the role he played in the separatist movement.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has accused New Delhi of triggering tensions between the two countries following the killing of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, opening up a wide diplomatic rift between the two old allies.
Can this tension be contained? And what does this tell us about the plight of religious minorities in India?
Guests of Al Jazeera’s Inside Story discuss the international implications of the diplomatic row between India and Canada.Relations between Canada and India have sunk to their lowest point in years as the two countries swap accusations and expel each other’s diplomats over the killing of Sikh separatist leader, Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Experts said it remains to be seen if it will create a lasting rift between the two US allies, but it’s nonetheless an awkward situation for Western countries seeking to woo New Delhi as a counterweight to China and win India’s cooperation on the Ukraine war.
Five years ago, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau captured headlines in India for enthusiastically embracing the country’s culture during a weeklong trip with his family.
Those days seemed gone for good as tensions continue to simmer between the two countries, with no possible resolution in the immediate future.
Leading journalism instructor, writer and media commentator Andrew Mitrovica has blamed Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the country’s Liberals for the controversy over the killing of a prominent Sikh leader.
In an opinion piece published on Al Jazeera on Thursday, the Toronto-based columnist wrote that Trudeau “is playing politics” and that he is “hiding” the country’s “long history of allowing foreign allies to target its non-white nationals”.
Trudeau “didn’t provide any concrete ammunition – otherwise known as evidence – to support his stop-the-press claim,” he wrote.
“A more serious and judicious prime minister ought, I think, to have waited to make a speech of such import and consequence until he or she was confident enough to employ ‘proof’ and ‘established’,” Mitrovica added.Canadian embassy in India to adjust staff presence after ‘threat’ to diplomats
Canadian diplomats in India have received threats on social media, its embassy says, prompting a decision to temporarily adjust its staff presence in the country, the Indian news agency ANI reports.
A diplomatic row has erupted between India and Canada in recent days following reports that Ottawa is conducting an investigation into the killing of a prominent Sikh separatist leader.
There have been some suggestions that Indian government agents may have been involved in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada in June. These allegations have been vehemently denied by New Delhi.
The dispute has spilled over onto social media and sparked angry protests in both India and Canada.Indian company abruptly removes notice about visa service suspension for Canadians
An Indian visa service company has abruptly withdrawn a notice about a suspension of visa services for Canadian citizens, minutes after posting it on its website.
BLS International had announced a suspension following a notice from the Indian mission. It also cited “operational reasons”, adding its office would remain shut “till further notice”.
India’s foreign ministry spokesperson did not respond to queries about the matter.
India has suspended the issuance of visas in Canada, its service provider says, amid a diplomatic row sparked by Ottawa’s accusation that New Delhi was involved in the killing of a Sikh separatist leader near Vancouver.
“Important notice from Indian Mission: Due to operational reasons, with effect from 21 September 2023, Indian visa services have been suspended till further notice,” BLS International posted on its website.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has demanded India treat with “utmost seriousness” allegations that Indian agents played a role in the June killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
The fallout prompted tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions and a forceful denial from India, which said any suggestion it played a role in Nijjar’s killing was “absurd”.
Nijjar was working to organise an unofficial referendum among the Sikh diaspora on independence from India at the time of his killing. He had denied India’s accusation that he was a terrorist.
Canada's high commission in India said on Thursday that it has decided to temporarily "adjust" staff presence in the country after some diplomats received threats on social media platforms, adding to spiralling tensions between the two countries.
The statement from the high commission came soon after an Indian company published a notice that it was suspending visa services for Canadian citizens following a notice from the Indian mission. It then withdrew it minutes later before re-publishing it again.
BLS International, an Indian company offering visa facilities, said on Wednesday the notice from the Indian mission in Canada cited "operational reasons" for suspension of visa services "till further notice".
Spokespersons for the Canadian high commission and the Indian foreign ministry did not respond to queries on the two developments.
Tensions between the two countries escalated earlier this week when Canada said that it was "actively pursuing credible allegations" linking Indian government agents to the murder of a Sikh separatist leader in British Columbia in June.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government categorically rejected Canada's suspicions that Indian agents had links to the alleged murder.
With both nations expelling a diplomat each, analysts said relations between the two countries have touched the lowest point.
"In light of the current environment where tensions have heightened, we are taking action to ensure the safety of our diplomats," the Canadian high commission said in a statement
"With some diplomats having received threats on various social media platforms, Global Affairs Canada is assessing its staff complement in India," it said, referring to the Canadian government department which manages Ottawa's diplomatic and consular relations.
"As a result, and out of an abundance of caution, we have decided to temporarily adjust staff presence in India," it said, without elaborating on what it meant by adjusting staff presence.
"In the context of respect for obligations under the Vienna conventions, we expect India to provide for the security of our accredited diplomats and consular officers in India, just as we are for theirs here."
After the tit-for-tat expulsions of senior diplomats, the two countries issued tit-for-tat travel advisories on Tuesday and Wednesday, with India urging its nationals in Canada, especially students, to exercise "utmost caution".
The tensions were sparked on Monday after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Ottawa was investigating "credible allegations" about the potential involvement of Indian government agents in the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia in June.
Canadian officials have so far declined to say why they believe India could be linked to Nijjar's murder.
New Delhi has also not provided evidence or details of specific incidents leading to its travel advisory that refers to "growing anti-India activities and politically condoned hate crimes and criminal violence in Canada".
Canada is a safe country, its public safety minister Dominic LeBlanc said hours after India's advisory.
Canada has the largest population of Sikhs outside the Indian state of Punjab, with about 770,000 people reporting Sikhism as their religion in the 2021 census.
Some Indian analysts say Ottawa does not curb Sikh protesters as they are a politically influential group.
The spat is also threatening trade ties, with talks on a proposed trade deal frozen last week.
Canada is India's 17th largest foreign investor, pouring in more than $3.6 billion since 2000, while Canadian portfolio investors have invested billions of dollars in Indian stock and debt markets.
Since 2018, India has been the largest source country for international students in Canada.
In 2022, their number rose 47% to nearly 320,000, accounting for about 40% of total overseas students, the Canadian Bureau of International Education says, which also helps universities and colleges provide a subsidised education to domestic students.
Industry estimates show the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between Canada and India could boost two-way trade by as much as $6.5 billion, yielding a GDP gain of $3.8 billion to $5.9 billion for Canada by 2035.
Reporting by Sakshi Dayal, Shivam Patel, Rupam Jain and Krishn Kaushik; Writing by YP Rajesh Editing by Shri Navaratnam
