NEW DELHI, Oct 25: Partial resumption of visa services in Canada will be resumed by India from Thursday. The visa services were closed by India last month following diplomatic row over Canada accusing India of having hand in the murder of alleged Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen.
The Indian High Commission in Ottawa said on Wednesday that services would resume resume for entry visa, business visa, medical visa, and conference visa. “Further decisions, as appropriate, would be intimated based on continuing evaluation of the situation,” read the media statement from the High Commission.
The visa services were suspended towards September-end as ties between the two nations faced severe strain following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegations of “potential” involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Nijjar, who was the chief of the banned Khalistan Tiger Force and one of India’s most-wanted terrorists.
On Sunday, foreign minister S Jaishankar said visa services to Canada could resume if India sees progress in the safety of Indian diplomats in Canada. It had attributed the suspension to “safety and security considerations” — a point the media statement underscored.
“If we see progress in safety of our diplomats in Canada, we would like to resume issuance of visas there,” Mr Jaishankar said on Sunday. The diplomatic row, that escalated to involve tit-for-tat withdrawal of High Commission officials, snowballed after Mr Trudeau’s comment on the sidelines of the G20 conference in Delhi. Canada will always “defend freedom of expression… conscience and peaceful protest,” Mr Trudeau had said.
Refuting the allegations about the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar s “politically motivated” India said Canada should share evidence to support their claims — a request Ottawa has so far declined.
(Manas Dasgupta)