Oct. 20 (UPI) — Canada withdrew 41 diplomats and their family members from India in the latest fallout from tensions between the two countries over the assassination of a prominent Sikh leader in June.
Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly and Minister of Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Marc Miller said that India had threatened to strip the immunities of “all but 21” of Canada’s diplomats in New Dehli by Friday.
“This means 41 Canadian diplomats and their 42 dependents were in danger of having immunities stripped,” Joly and Miller said in a joint statement. “Given the security implications of India’s actions and these Canadian diplomats and their families, Canada has facilitated their safe departure from India.”
Joly and Miller said that five members of its diplomat team in India will continue working focusing on in-country presence such as urgent processing, visa printing, risk assessment and overseeing key partners, including visa application centers.
“Unfortunately, this mass expulsion will impact our operations, and client service will be affected, ” they said. “We will now be forced to pause temporarily all in-person services at Consulates, until further notice. … As a result, the reduction in the size of the IRCC team will affect service standards for residents of India.”
They also condemned the decision to revoke the diplomats’ immunities as a “completely unreasonable and escalatory” action.
The move is the latest in a series of diplomatic exchanges between the two nations after Canadian law enforcement accused the Indian government of playing a role in the assassination of Canadian Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia in June.
The two sides each expelled diplomats in September and then India issued a warning to nationals in Canada and later suspended visa services for Canadians as a result of the spat.
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