“Unethical Indian Plan": Says Canada Withdrawing 41 Diplomats Out Of India (Image: twitter/melaniejoly)
Canada withdrawn 41 diplomats and their 42 dependents from India, amid the escalating bureaucratic raw between the countries over the killing of the Khalistani separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar on the Canadian soil. The Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly accused the Indian decision to remove the diplomats by October 20 as “unethical”, while addressing a press meet on Thursday.
It was recently India issued a withdrawal order of 41 Canadian diplomats and warned Ottawa that if any of their mentioned diplomats continue to stay in the country after the allotted date, their diplomatic immunity will be revoked. Canada had 62 diplomats in New Delhi, a large number comparing to what India has in Canada.
The Canadian minister explained the Indian action as “unprecedented and unreasonable”, that it clearly violated the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. The revoked officials were pulled out by Ottawa on recognizing their personal safety is at “risk” on the Indian grounds. Ms Joly also confirmed that the decision impacts the functioning of the consulates in both the countries. As of now, Canada is forced to stop all the “in-person services” at their Consulates in Chandigarh, Mumbai, and Bengaluru.
The 41 Canadian diplomats and their 42 dependents were in “danger of having immunity stripped on an arbitrary date and this would put their personal safety at risk”, said the Canadian Foreign Minister in the press conference while explaining the revoke matter.
“India has formally conveyed its plan to unilaterally remove diplomatic immunities for all but 21 Canadian diplomats and dependents in Delhi by tomorrow, October 20th.”
Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly announces the departure of Canadian diplomats and their families from… pic.twitter.com/LHznEinP0P
— True North (@TrueNorthCentre) October 19, 2023
Last month, Indian External Affairs Ministry demanded Ottawa an urgent withdrawal of 41 Canadian diplomats after the Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau fuelled a bureaucratic tension between the two countries over the murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Mr Trudeau while addressing the parliament alleged that the murder is an extraterritorial assassination operated by the Indian government. He also initiated an investigation on the matter with the help of Canadian Intelligence agencies. India has earlier dismissed the allegations as “absurd” and “motivated”.
The row got more worsened as both of the country expelled its senior diplomats. India also suspended visa services in Canada citing ‘operational reasons’, and issued an advisory for its citizens and those who are travelling to Canada to exercise “utmost caution in view of growing anti-India activities and politically-condoned hate crimes and criminal violence” in the country.
Indian Foreign minister S Jaishankar also expressed that India is willing to look into the matter if Canada provides specific or relevant information and evidences to substantiate their allegation. “I have said that if somebody gives us specific or relevant information, we’re prepared to look at it”, the minister said. It is “not the Indian government’s policy” to engage in such activities, he added.
Ottawa then expressed their willingness to have a private discussion with India to resolve the row stating that the country has a serious approach towards the safety of their diplomats working on the Indian soil. The deadline was earlier October 10, and Canada shifted several of their diplomats based in India to Malaysia or Singapore.
