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India halts visa services in Canada over security concerns
The suspension of visa services has plunged relations between the two countries to a new low
The government of India has suspended visa services in Canada as bilateral relations between the two countries continue to deteriorate over the murder of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia.
Arindam Bagchi, the spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, told reporters that the decision was made due to security concerns for its consular staff in the North American country, who are facing a disruption in their normal activities and will be unable to process visa applications.
"The security situation because of Canadian government's inaction has resulted in disruptions and we have suspended visa applications," he said, adding that all categories of visas, including e-visas are suspended.
A private visa agency, BLS International that manages visa applicants in Canada, announced earlier that the visa services will be suspended due to "operational reasons” and will remain suspended "till further notice."
During the media briefing, Bagchi also stated that Canadian diplomatic presence on Indian soil is "very much higher" than Indian presence in Canada. "We have informed the Canadian government that there should be parity in strength and rank equivalence in mutual diplomatic presence. The details of this are being worked out but I assume there will be a reduction from the Canadian side," he said.
As of earlier this week, diplomatic tensions between India and Canada have been on the rise after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau claimed he had "evidence" that the Indian government had orchestrated the murder of Canadian citizen, Nijjar, who was on India’s most wanted list.
Calling the allegations "politically driven," Bagchi emphasised that no information has been shared by the Canadian side as to what Indian links were associated with Nijjar's murder. However, he added, "From our side very specific evidence about criminal activities by individuals based on Canadian soil has been shared with the Canadian authorities on a regular basis but not been acted upon."
Since the allegations, both countries have expelled a senior diplomat each and issued travel advisories to their citizens. New Delhi has asked its citizens, especially students in canada to exercise “utmost caution” amid growing anti-india activities in Canada.
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