Foreign Minister Melanie Joly has announced that 41 diplomats have been withdrawn from India by Canada amid a dispute over the killing of a Sikh separatist leader. The Minister added that Ottawa would not take retaliatory steps.
Recall that the government of India asked Canada to reduce its diplomatic presence after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau cited what according to him was credible evidence of a potential link between Indian agents and killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, 45, who was killed outside a Sikh temple in British Columbia in June.
Joly said India had threatened to unilaterally revoke the diplomats’ official status by Friday if they don’t leave. She said this move was unreasonable and unprecedented and clearly violated the Vienna convention on diplomatic relations.
While speaking during a recent press conference, Joly said: “Given the implications of India’s actions on the safety of our diplomats, we have facilitated their safe departure from India.
“If we allow the norm of diplomatic immunity to be broken, no diplomats anywhere on the planet would be safe. So for this reason, we will not reciprocate,” she said.
Canada is now left with 21 diplomats in India. The 41 that left were accompanied by 42 dependents.
India has described Trudeau’s suspicions that its agents were linked to the murder of Nijjar as absurd.
While talking about the departure, Immigration Minister Marc Miller said the diplomats’ departure meant Canada would reduce the number of embassy staff dealing with immigration.
He said: “We acknowledge the concerns and frustrations that this situation may cause for clients, families, educational institutions, communities, businesses in Canada as a whole.”
He said Visa application centers in India are run by third-party contractors and would not be affected.
SUPPORT NIGERIAN CANADIAN NEWSPAPER CANADA
If you like our work and want to keep enjoying what we offer, kindly support us by donating to the Nigerian Canadian News by clicking here
Share your thoughts in the comments section below
Do you want to share any news or information with us? If yes, contact the publisher at publisher@test1.nascitest.club
