India on Thursday suspended new visas for Canadian citizens and asked the government in Ottawa to scale back its diplomatic presence in the country, sharply escalating a row sparked by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s accusations that New Delhi’s services were involved in the killing of a Sikh separatist. Canada, News.ro reports with reference to Reuters.

India’s foreign ministry said Ottawa had not provided any specific information on Trudeau’s allegations, although authorities in New Delhi were prepared to consider them if provided. India “is willing to consider any concrete information, we have conveyed it to the Canadian side, we have clarified it, but we have not received any concrete information so far,” an Indian foreign ministry spokesman said.

India’s complete suspension of visas for a Western country is unprecedented and represents a low point in relations between New Delhi and Ottawa.

The announcement came hours after the Canadian High Commission in India said it would temporarily “adjust” its staff presence in the country after some diplomats received threats on their social media accounts. But India’s foreign ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi said Canada had been asked to reduce the number of staff at its diplomatic missions in India to achieve parity between the two countries’ missions.

Bagchi said India has suspended issuing new visas to Canadian citizens because of “security threats” to staff at its consulates in Canada. India has not provided any evidence or details about the nature of these security threats, and Canada’s public safety minister, Dominic LeBlanc, responded on Wednesday that his country was safe.

“You are aware of the security threats facing our High Commission and consulates in Canada. It disrupted their normal operations,” Bagchi told reporters at his weekly briefing on Thursday.

“As a result, our High Commission and our consulates are temporarily unable to process visa applications,” he said, adding that the security situation would be periodically assessed.

According to Indian government data, Canada is the fourth largest source of foreign tourists, with 350,000 visitors in 2019, a number that has declined since the COVID-19 pandemic.

India says Canada should worry about its reputation

Unprecedented tensions between the two G20 nations, a grouping of the world’s most powerful economies, flared Monday after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Ottawa was investigating “credible allegations” that Indian government agents may have been involved in his assassination. a Sikh leader in June in the province of British Columbia. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has denied any involvement in the alleged murder.

The two countries, whose relations have been strained in recent years over the Sikh separatist issue, have since announced the expulsion of senior diplomats and issued travel advisories.

Canadian officials have so far refused to say why they believe India may be connected to Nijar’s murder.

But Canada has discussed the issue with key allies such as the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance, a group that also includes the United States, Britain, Australia and New Zealand. Washington, London and Canberra have expressed their concern.

Asked if any of these countries, with which India also has close ties, had taken up the issue with New Delhi, Bagchi said: “We have discussed with them, we have conveyed our position as we see these developments.”

Canada should worry about the damage to its reputation, not India, Bagchi added when asked about the risk the dispute poses to New Delhi’s global standing.

“If there’s any country that should be paying attention, it’s Canada, its reputation as a haven for terrorists, extremists and organized crime is growing,” he said. The official added that India had unsuccessfully asked Canada to take action against more than 20 people, Reuters reported. (News.ro)