India asks Canada to recall at least 40 of its diplomats by Oct 10

New Delhi:  Nearly two weeks after New Delhi told Ottawa to maintain parity in strength and rank equivalence in its diplomatic presence in this country, India is learnt to have set a deadline of October 10 for 41 Canadian diplomats to be repatriated. A report claimed India had threatened to revoke the diplomatic immunity of the diplomats in question who remain in the country after that date. Both the Indian and Canadian governments have refused to comment on this.

The Financial Times, which broke the news, quoted a source saying that Canada had 62 diplomats in India and that New Delhi had told them to reduce that by 41 people.

The latest order from India comes after the external affairs ministry asked Canada to reduce its strength to keep parity with the presence of Indian diplomats in Canada. Earlier, India had imposed a visa ban for Canadians.

Both countries are embroiled in a diplomatic tussle ever since Canadian PM Justin Trudeau, on September 18, accused India of being behind the killing of a “Khalistani” terrorist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was a wanted criminal in India. India had strongly objected to these allegations and while rejecting the claims it asked Canada to provide proof of its allegations. Canada has so far not provided any concrete evidence.

“We have informed the Canadian government that there should be parity in strength and rank equivalence in our diplomatic presence… Their numbers here are very much higher than ours in Canada. The details of this are being worked out, but I assume there will be a reduction from the Canadian side,” MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had said two weeks back.

“The reason is that we have seen Canadian diplomatic interference in our internal affairs. This is a factor that is being taken into account for seeking parity in strength and rank equivalence,” he added.

The Indian government has said it is yet to get any evidence from Canada on the claims it has made regarding Nijjar’s murder.   

“Ottawa is limited in what it can share with the Indian government, partly to protect the sources and methods used to collect the intelligence, but also to avoid compromising the murder investigation,” said FT, quoting people familiar with the matter. The report further said: “The constraints meant Canadian national security adviser Jody Thomas and other officials who visited India, including Canadian Security Intelligence Service head David Vigneault, had only been able to present the evidence verbally to their Indian counterparts.”

Meanwhile, the United States once again said it has engaged with the Indian government on a number of occasions urging them to cooperate with Canada in its investigations into the death of a Khalistani separatist.