Media: India demands Canada to recall about 40 diplomats

India has demanded that Canada withdraw about 40 diplomats from the country by October 10. transmits Financial Times (FT) newspaper.

According to the publication, New Delhi is ready to deprive employees of the Canadian diplomatic mission of diplomatic immunity if they remain in India after October 10. India has demanded the recall of 41 people, one of the newspaper’s sources said. In total, 62 Canadian diplomats work in the Canadian diplomatic mission in India, writes FT.

The reason for this requirement was the statements of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. On September 18, he admitted that Indian intelligence services could have been involved in the murder of oppositionist and Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar, which occurred in June in Vancouver. New Delhi has not admitted involvement in the incident and has refused to cooperate with Canada in the murder investigation.

On September 21, both countries announced their desire to adjust the number of employees in each other’s diplomatic missions. In addition, the operator of Indian visa centers in Canada, BLS International, announced that it will stop accepting visa applications from September 21.

Nijjar was killed on June 18, 2023 in Surry, British Columbia. The suspects managed to escape from the crime scene. He was 45 years old and became a Canadian citizen in 2007, although he moved there in the 1990s. The Indian government considered him the leader of the separatist group Khalistan Tigers, which is seeking its own independent state of Khalistan. New Delhi issued arrest warrants for Nijjar several times, but Ottawa never issued him.