India suspends visa service, calls Canada terror safe haven

Accusing Ottawa of not acting against the Khalistan separatists in Canada, New Delhi said the Canadian government has not shared any specific information on the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. But it opened a window for cooperation, saying if they provide any specific information, New Delhi will be willing to look into it.

This is an incremental step forward towards cooperating with the investigation launched by Canada, a day after the US urged India to cooperate with the Canadian investigation into the killing of Nijjar.

Canada, on its part, said it is open and operational for visa services to Indians, and confirmed that it would be reducing staff presence in India.

The Indian High Commission’s visa facility services announced Thursday morning on their website about the suspension of visa services due to “operational reasons”.

People board a bus for the airport as they leave for Canada, in Jalandhar on Thursday. PTI

Later in the day, Arindam Bagchi, spokesperson for the MEA, said India is temporarily suspending issuance of visas to Canadian citizens in view of “security threats” faced by its High Commission and Consulates in Canada.

This will include e-visa services and Canadian citizens applying for visas from third countries as well.

“You are aware of the security threats being faced by our High Commission and Consulates in Canada. It has disrupted their normal functioning. Accordingly, our High Commission and Consulates are temporarily unable to process visa applications,” Bagchi said.

He said those who have valid visas and documents like OCI (Overseas Citizenship of India) cards are free to travel to India.

“The issue is the incitement of violence, the inaction by the Canadian authorities, creation of an environment that disrupts the functioning of our High Commission and Consulates. That’s making us temporarily stop the issuance of visas or providing visa services,” he said, adding, “We will be reviewing the situation on a regular basis.”

On the diplomatic presence, the MEA spokesperson said, “We have informed the Canadian government that there should be parity in strength and rank equivalence in mutual diplomatic presence. Their numbers here are much very much higher than ours in Canada. The details of this are being worked out. But I assume there will be a reduction.”

Responding to a question, he said that Canadian diplomats are “interfering in India’s internal affairs”.

Apart from the Canadian High Commission in New Delhi, Canada has Consulates in Chandigarh, Bengaluru and Mumbai. It also has Trade Commissioner Service offices – a total of eight – in New Delhi, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Mumbai.

India has a High Commission in Ottawa and Consulates in Toronto and Vancouver.

Bagchi said India is engaging with other partners about the situation, something that Australia has confirmed so far. Trudeau had said that he had raised the issue with the US and UK.

But more strident was his choice of words to describe Canada, almost equating Canada with Pakistan. “Overall, I think you should look at the larger issue, the larger issue of terrorism and not just terrorism, but also the fact that it is being funded and supported for some time by Pakistan. But the issue of safe havens and places to operate has been provided abroad in Canada. And that, you know, we would expect that is the main focus of the question — do we have the political will to address terrorism, or we want to justify it,” he said.

India’s travel advisory Wednesday had underlined “politically-condoned” hate crimes and violence in Canada.

On possible reputational damage to India after being blamed for Nijjar’s killing, Bagchi said, “Look, if there’s any country if you are talking about reputational issues, that reputational damage is this one, any country that needs look at this, I think it is Canada and its growing reputation as a place, as a safe haven for terrorists, for extremists and for organised crime. I think that’s the country that needs to worry about.”

On the Canadian PM’s allegation, he said, “Yes, I do think there is a degree of prejudice here. They have made allegations and taken action against them. To us, it seems that these allegations by the government of Canada are primarily politically-driven.”

Bagchi said no information has been shared by Canada regarding the killing of Nijjar. “We are willing to look at any specific information that is provided to us, but so far we have received no specific information from Canada.”

“From our side, specific evidence about criminal activities by individuals based on Canadian soil has been shared with Canada but not acted upon… Safe haven is being provided in Canada, we want the Canadian government to not do so and take action against those who have terrorism charges or send them here to face justice… We have sought either extradition request or assistance related to that, at least more than 20-25 individuals we have requested over the years but the response has not been helpful at all.”

On the threats to Indian diplomats in Canada and whether India is sending security personnel from here, he said, “We have always believed that it is the host government’s responsibility to provide security. Some places, we have our own security posture also. But, I don’t want to discuss security measures in public.”

Responding to queries, the Canadian High Commission in New Delhi said, “Our High Commission and all Consulates in India are open and operational and continue to serve clients.”

“Global Affairs Canada continuously monitors the safety and security of our missions and personnel as we maintain a strict security protocol to respond to any events,” it said.

“In light of the current environment where tensions have heightened, we are taking action to ensure the safety of our diplomats. With some diplomats having received threats on various social media platforms, Global Affairs Canada is 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. All of our locations are staffed by diplomats and locally-engaged staff to ensure business and operational continuity,” it said.

“Global Affairs Canada will continue to take all appropriate measures to protect the health and safety of all our personnel, including locally-engaged staff, and to protect our operations in India. Decisions are made based on a number of factors including the professional profile of an employee or personal circumstances.”

“In the context of respect for obligations under the Vienna conventions, we expect India to provide for the security of our accredited diplomats and consular officers in India, just as we are for theirs here,” it said.

Canada hosts one of the largest Indian diasporas in the world, numbering 16 lakh people of Indian origin, accounting for over 3 per cent of the total Canadian population, including 7 lakh NRIs. India became the top source of foreign students studying in Canada – 2.3 lakh, according to 2022 data.