Canada shouldn’t be seeking to escalate the state of affairs with India, will proceed to interact “responsibly and constructively” with New Delhi, mentioned PM Justin Trudeau amid frayed India-Canada ties over loss of life of a Khalistani separatist.
“We need to be on the bottom in India to assist the Canadian households there,” mentioned Trudeau on Tuesday amid a report that mentioned India has communicated to Canada that it should repatriate 41 diplomats by October 10.
UK’s Monetary Occasions, citing folks acquainted with the Indian demand, mentioned India had threatened to revoke the diplomatic immunity of these diplomats advised to depart who remained after October 10.
Bilateral ties have change into severely strained over Canadian suspicion that Indian authorities brokers had a task within the June homicide in Canada of a Sikh separatist chief and Canadian citizen, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who India had labeled a “terrorist”.
India has dismissed the allegation as absurd.
Canada has 62 diplomats in India and India had mentioned that the full ought to be decreased by 41, the newspaper mentioned.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declined to verify the report of the expulsions however mentioned Ottawa was not seeking to escalate the dispute.
“We’re taking this extraordinarily severely, however we will proceed to interact responsibly and constructively inside with the Authorities of India,” he advised reporters on Tuesday.
Exterior Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar mentioned final week there was a “local weather of violence” and an “environment of intimidation” in opposition to Indian diplomats in Canada, the place the presence of Sikh separatist teams has pissed off New Delhi.
With inputs from Reuters
