Amidst the ongoing diplomatic row with Canada, India has resumed Electronic visa services for Canadian nationals after a long gap of two months, Indian media widely reported on 22nd November (Wednesday), citing sources. The resumption of e-visas signals a potential thaw in the diplomatic strains between the two countries.
Earlier in October, the Indian government had restored visa services for Canadians in four categories. These included entry visas, business visas, medical visas, and conference visas.
Notably, on 21st September, New Delhi suspended Visa services for Canadians in the wake of a diplomatic row that kicked off after Canadian Prime Minister Justine Trudeau made allegations against India in the Canadian Parliament on 18th September. Accusing India of carrying out the execution on Canadian soil, he claimed that “agents of the Indian government” were involved in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen, in June this year.
Soon after, the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, issued a statement rejecting the allegations calling it absurd and motivated. The statement read, “We have seen and rejected the statement of the Canadian Prime Minister in their Parliament, as also the statement by their Foreign Minister. Allegations of the Government of India’s involvement in any act of violence in Canada are absurd and motivated. The MEA also added that Nijjar was a wanted criminal in India and Canada has been harboring terrorists.
More importantly, even two months after Trudeau aired those allegations against India, Canada hadn’t provided any proof of Indian involvement in Hardeep Nijjar’s killing.
The detailed report on the ongoing diplomatic row and the sequence of events could be read by clicking here.
Apart from the unfound allegations, the Canadian government also expelled Indian diplomats which was met with a similar response from the Indian side. Seeking parity, India asked Canada to cut down its diplomatic presence. On 20th October, 41 more Canadian diplomats and their families left India.
Additionally, both nations also issued travel advisories to their citizens. In its travel advisory, India warned Indian nationals in Canada, and those planning to travel, to exercise “utmost caution” in view of “politically-condoned” hate crimes.
Meanwhile, US media reports revealed that the killers of Nijjar were Sikhs and there were at least six men and two vehicles involved in the murder, hinting that it was potentially gang violence.
