India Suspends Visa Services For Canadians Amid Escalating Diplomatic Row, Say Reports
India has suspended visa services for Canadians amid the ongoing diplomatic tussle between the countries.
New Delhi: The Indian government has reportedly suspended visa services for Canadian nationals "due to operational reasons", a day after issuing an advisory for Indian nationals living in Canada urging them to exercise "extreme caution" amid the diplomatic row escalating between the two countries.
News agency PTI quoted a notification from the official website of the 'India Visa Application Center Canada', which read: "Important notice from Indian Mission: Due to operational reasons, with effect from 21 September 2023, Indian visa services have been suspended till further notice. Please keep checking BLS website for further updates."
The diplomatic row between India and Canada snowballed into a massive controversy after Ottawa expelled a senior Indian diplomat following Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegations of a possible link of Indian government 'agents' to the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Khalistan symphatiser. In retaliation, New delhi also expelled a Canadian diplomat, after rejecting the Canadian PM's claims as "absurd' and 'motivated".
Who Was Hardeep Singh Nijjar?
Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian Sikh leader and Khalistan sympathiser, was murdered in June this year in Surrey, in the Canadian province of British Columbia. His killing has sparked a diplomatic row between India and Canada. After Canada expelled a senior Indian diplomat posted in that country, following Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's remarks at the house of Commons that he had found “credible allegations of a potential link between agents of the Government of India and the killing of Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar”, New Delhi too asked a senior Canadian diplomat to leave India "within the next five days".
Nijjar, 45, was the chief of the banned Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF), was shot dead by two unidentified gunmen on June 18 in the parking lot of Surrey Gurdwara Sahib in Brampton.
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