Canada in talks with India on withdrawal of diplomats amid row over killing of Khalistani leader

Ottawa is in talks with New Delhi to work out a compromise after Canada was asked to withdraw two-thirds of its diplomats in India in the wake of the row between the two nations over the killing of a Khalistani Sikh extremist in the North American country. New Delhi had on September 22 asked Canada to bring down the number of staff in its high commission in New Delhi and the consulates in Bengaluru, Mumbai and Chandigarh. The move is intended to bring parity between Canada’s diplomats and consular officials in India and India’s in Canada.

Ottawa is in talks with New Delhi to work out a compromise after Canada was asked to withdraw two-thirds of its diplomats in India in the wake of the row between the two nations over the killing of a Khalistani Sikh extremist in the North American country.

“Obviously, we're going through an extremely challenging time with India right now,” Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told journalists on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday. “That's why it's so important for us to have diplomats on the ground, working with the Indian government, there to support Canadians and Canadian families.”

His comment came after the Financial Times reported that New Delhi had asked Canada to withdraw 41 of its 62 diplomats posted in India. The newspaper also reported that New Delhi had threatened to revoke the diplomatic immunity of the 41 officials of Canada’s missions in India if they did not leave by October 10. Neither Ottawa nor New Delhi, however, officially confirmed the report.

Trudeau’s Foreign Minister Melanie Jolie said that Ottawa was in “ongoing conversations” with New Delhi over the issue of withdrawal of Canada’s diplomats in India.

New Delhi had on September 22 asked Canada to bring down the number of staff in its high commission in New Delhi and the consulates in Bengaluru, Mumbai and Chandigarh. The move is intended to bring parity between Canada’s diplomats and consular officials in India and India’s in Canada. It had come just days after Trudeau told the House of Commons – the lower house of Canadian Parliament – that his government’s security agencies were actively pursuing the ‘credible allegations’ about ‘a potential link’ between New Delhi’s agents and the killing of Nijjar.

Arindam Bagchi, the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), had told journalists in New Delhi that Canada had many more diplomats in India than India had in Canada. He said that New Delhi had asked Ottawa to downsize Canada’s missions in India in order to bring parity in the numbers of the diplomats and consular officials the two nations had in each other’s capitals and other cities.

A source in New Delhi said that Ottawa had argued that Canada needed more diplomats in India as the South Asian nation had a population of 1.4 billion, much more than the 40 million people of the North American country.

“In moments of tension, because indeed there are tensions between both our governments, more than ever it's important that diplomats be on the ground,” Joly told journalists in Ottawa. “That's why we believe in the importance of having a strong diplomatic footprint in India. That being said, we are in ongoing conversations with the Indian government.”   

Nijjar was the commander of the Khalistan Tiger Force and one of India’s most wanted fugitive extremists. He was involved in running the campaign for the secession of Punjab from India.

New Delhi dismissed Trudeau's allegation regarding India's role in the killing of the Khalistani extremist.

The allegation, however, triggered a diplomatic row, with both sides expelling each other’s diplomats and issuing tit-for-tat travel advisories. India also called Canada a safe haven for terrorists and suspended issuing visas for Canadians.

New Delhi has been criticizing Trudeau's government for not acting on its request to crack down on the Khalistani Sikh extremists, who have been running a secessionist campaign against India from Canada.