Amid a diplomatic dispute stemming from the murder of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada, forty-one Canadian diplomats have departed India.
India had previously requested the removal of a significant number of Canadian diplomatic staff and had threatened to revoke their immunity if they stayed, according to BBC report.
Canadian officials criticized this threat as a breach of international law.
Canada-India relations have reached an unprecedented low due to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s statement in September.
He asserted that there was credible evidence linking India to Nijjar’s murder, based on Canadian intelligence that suggested the involvement of “agents of the government of India” in the killing.
Hardeep Singh Nijjar was assassinated by two masked gunmen outside the Sikh temple he led in Surrey, British Columbia. Canadian authorities described it as a “targeted attack,” and an ongoing investigation is in progress.
Nijjar was a vocal advocate for the establishment of a separate Sikh state in India known as Khalistan, a movement vehemently opposed by India, which designated him as a terrorist in 2020. India has vehemently denied these allegations, deeming them “absurd.”
Canada’s Foreign Minister, Melanie Joly, on Thursday, confirmed that many Canadian diplomats and their dependents have now left India.
India informed Canada that immunity for “all but 21 diplomats” would be unilaterally revoked by October 20.
Ms Joly said that the remaining 21 diplomats are still in India, but the withdrawal means Canada will have to limit its services in the country due to a shortage of staff.
In particular, in-person operations in Bangalore, Mumbai, and Chandigarh will be temporarily suspended.
Services will still be accessible through the High Commission of Canada in Delhi, and application centers, managed by third parties, will remain open.
However, the reduction in staff is expected to cause significant delays in processing immigration applications, at least in the short term, as noted by Canadian Immigration Minister Marc Miller.