Canada has updated the travel advisory for its citizens in India, warning them of the possibility of “anti-Canada protests” as well as “intimidation or harassment”.
Moreover, the Consulates General of Canada in Bengaluru, Chandigarh and Mumbai are temporarily suspending in-person operations. Consular services in-person will remain available at the High Commission of Canada in New Delhi.
This comes as Canada on Thursday said it has withdrawn 41 diplomats from India amid a dispute over the murder of a Khalistani terrorist on Canadian soil. Foreign Minister Melanie Joly made the announcement, adding that Ottawa would not take retaliatory steps.
New Delhi had threatened to unilaterally revoke the diplomats’ official status by Friday unless they left, Joly said. This move, she said, was “unreasonable and unprecedented and clearly violated the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations”, according to a report in news agency Reuters.
“In the context of recent developments in Canada and in India, there are calls for protests and some negative sentiment towards Canada in traditional media and on social media,” the advisory read.
It further added, “Demonstrations, including anti-Canada protests, could occur and Canadians may be subjected to intimidation or harassment. In Delhi and the National Capital Region, you should keep a low profile with strangers, and not share your personal information with them.”
It also urged its citizens to avoid crowded areas, including public transportation.
Meanwhile, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) on Thursday said that there would be a slowdown in processing of visa applications for Indians.
“Following India’s intent to unilaterally remove immunities for all but 21 Canadian diplomats and dependents in Delhi by October 20, 2023, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is reducing its number of employees in India from 27 to 5. IRCC will continue to accept and process applications from India, but reduced staffing levels are expected to impact processing times,” it said.
“Clients from India can expect to see some delays over the next few months. This includes delays in overall processing times, responses to their enquiries, getting their visas or passports returned,” IRCC added.
A diplomatic row had erupted between the two nations following Canadian PM Justin Trudeau’s explosive allegations of a “potential” involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on his country’s soil on June 18 in British Columbia. India had designated Nijjar as a terrorist in 2020.
India angrily rejected the allegations as “absurd” and “motivated” and expelled a senior Canadian diplomat in a tit-for-tat move to Ottawa’s expulsion of an Indian official over the case.
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