Canada pulls out diplomats from Delhi, relocates them to Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, says report

Canada has evacuated most of its diplomats serving in India, relocating them to Kuala Lumpur or Singapore, following a deadline issued by India to reduce its diplomatic staff. The drastic move comes in the wake of a diplomatic dispute over the murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, reportedly leading to the October 10 deadline set by New Delhi.

According to a PTI report, this came on the back of India's demand earlier this week, asking Canada to withdraw several diplomats from its embassies, a move spurred by a diplomatic dispute that ignited following Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau's, accusations linking Indian agents to the assassination of the Khalistani separatist, Nijjar, in June.

India dismissed the claims as "absurd" and "motivated," and removed a senior Canadian diplomat in retaliation for Ottawa's expulsion of an Indian official.

The Indian government has given Ottawa until October 10 to lessen Canadian diplomatic staff in that country to a level on par with the number of Indian diplomats in Canada, PTI quoted CTV News sources as saying.

Earlier reports put the number of diplomats who would have to go at 41, but sources CTV News spoke with claimed the request is for parity.

"A majority of the Canadian diplomats working in India outside of Delhi have been evacuated to either Kuala Lumpur or Singapore," PTI quoted the report as saying.

Global Affairs Canada, which controls the country's diplomatic and consular affairs, previously claimed that "with some diplomats having received threats on various social media platforms," it was "assessing its staff complement in India."

"As a result, and out of an abundance of caution, we have decided to temporarily adjust staff presence in India," the department said. This came a few days after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged that the Indian government was involved in the murder.

India said on Thursday that Canada's diplomatic presence in the country must be reduced in order to achieve parity in strength, and that some Canadian diplomats are involved in interfering in New Delhi's internal affairs, signalling a further deterioration in relations between the two countries over Nijjar's death.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi stated that discussions on the arrangements for mutual diplomatic presence are ongoing in New Delhi, adding that India will not reconsider its position on the matter.

He stated that because Canada's diplomatic presence in India is significantly more than India's strength in Canada, it is expected that there will be a reduction.

"Our focus is on ensuring parity in diplomatic strength," he said.

The spokesperson, however, did not reply to questions on reports that October 10 is the deadline set by New Delhi for Ottawa to reduce the number of its diplomats in India.

"I would not like to get into the details of diplomatic conversation," he said.

It is learnt that the number of Canadian diplomats in India is around 60 and New Delhi wants Ottawa to reduce the strength by at least three dozen.

On whether Canada has shared with India any information or evidence relating to Nijjar's killing, Bagchi referred to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's recent remarks that if any specific or relevant information is shared with New Delhi, it is open to looking at it.

With inputs from PTI

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