India has indefinitely suspended visa services for Canadian citizens – citing “operational issues” – amid an escalating diplomatic row over the slaying of a Sikh separatist leader.
Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau said there were “credible allegations” of the Indian state’s involvement in the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian national and prayer leader, in British Columbia.
Canada also ejected an Indian diplomat who it identified as heading the intelligence wing of the Indian High Commission in Ottawa.
India has rejected the allegations as “absurd” and responded by ordering a similarly high-ranking Canadian diplomat in Delhi to leave the country within five days.
India on Wednesday issued a travel warning for its citizens in Canada, urging Indians to exercise caution due to “growing anti-India activities and politically-condoned hate crimes”.
Relations between the two countries have been strained for months over the issue of the Khalistan movement, whose members call for a separate Sikh nation to be carved out of India’s Punjab state. The row has seen trade talks break down and a frosty exchange between Mr Trudeau and India’s Narendra Modi at the G20.
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