Last week, Canadian authorities charged three Indian nationals with the murder of Nijjar. It is reported that they entered Canada on student visas.
India also accused Canada of allowing "celebration and glorification" of violence, expressing concerns over the security of Indian diplomats in that country, and said it expects Ottawa to ensure that they are able to carry out their responsibilities without fear.
"When it comes to the Canadian matter, we have made clear that the allegations are extremely serious and they need to be taken seriously. We wanted to see the government of India cooperate with Canada in its investigation. Obviously, they have not chosen that path," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters at his daily news conference.
India and Canada have mutually beneficial political and economic linkages. The two countries should get together and find a solution. The expulsion war should, in the meantime, be a guarantee against any deterioration of the situation, asserts Ambassador T P Sreenivasan, the first Indian head of mission to be ever expelled by any country.
India has never received anything which is specific and worthy of being pursued by its probe agencies, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday said over a fourth arrest made by Canada in the killing of Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Two weeks ago, New Delhi asked Ottawa to downsize its diplomatic presence in India.
The float glorifying Indira Gandhi's assassination was part of a parade that was taken out in Brampton to mark the 40th anniversary of Operation Bluestar.
The statements the separatists make, the abominable tableaux at their parades, the slogans, posters, and selfies with assault rifles are not India's problem. If they are a nuisance, it should bother their host countries, because they are armed and have their own underworld with deadly gang rivalries. Significantly, none of this happens in the US -- only in snowflaky Canada, points out Shekhar Gupta.
India on Monday expelled six Canadian diplomats and announced withdrawing its high commissioner and other 'targeted' officials from Canada after strongly dismissing Ottawa's allegations linking the envoy to a probe into the killing of Sikh extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in a major downturn in already frosty ties between the two nations.
Data reveals that India issued only 5,709 tourist visas during this year's January 1 to November 2 period, reflecting a staggering 91 per cent decrease compared to the entire year of 2022.
The development comes days after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Sunday that India is looking at resuming visa services for Canadians "very soon" if it sees progress in the safety of its diplomats in Canada.
Tensions flared between India and Canada in September following Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegations of the "potential" involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on June 18 in British Columbia. India had designated Nijjar as a terrorist in 2020.
India's High Commissioner to Canada, Sanjay Kumar Verma reiterated New Delhi's stand on the diplomatic standoff with Canada, and urged Ottawa to release evidence backing up its allegation regarding the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Canada has evacuated a majority of its diplomats working in India outside of New Delhi to either Kuala Lumpur or Singapore after it gave Ottawa an October 10 deadline to reduce its diplomatic staff to achieve parity in strength following a row over the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, according to a media report on Friday.
India has strongly rejected as "baseless" allegations of its interference in Canadian elections and asserted that the core issue has been Ottawa's meddling in New Delhi's internal affairs.
A day after Trudeau's remarks, ministry of external affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi asserted that India's "core issue" with Canada remains that of the space given to separatists, terrorists and anti-India elements in that country.
His remarks came after the US said on Thursday that it supports Canada's efforts to investigate allegations of India's involvement in the killing of Nijjar, observing that no country can get any "special exemption" for such kind of activities.
The report by the Financial Times on Tuesday came even as Canada is yet to comply with India's communication to Ottawa to withdraw over three dozen of its 62 diplomats in the country.
Trudeau said that there was a commitment to work together with India to deal with some "very important issues".
Neither India nor Canada reacted to the report that came 12 days after New Delhi asked Ottawa to downsize its diplomatic presence in India.
The United States has urged India to cooperate with Canada in its investigations.
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, the high commission said.
India urged Canada to disallow activities of groups promoting extremism, prevent attacks on places of worship of religious and racial minorities, and enhance measures to address hate crimes and hate speech.
The United States embassy on Thursday trashed reports that American Ambassador Eric Garcetti alerted his team about possible impact of New Delhi's diplomatic spat with Ottawa on India-United States relations.
The US also remains in regular contact with the Canadian government, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Friday.
In a nail-biting finish, Conservative candidate Don Stewart won the Liberal stronghold of Toronto-St. Paul's by defeating Liberal Party's Leslie Church by 590 votes.
Because India was asked to cooperate and if you look at the typical criminal terminology, when someone asks to cooperate, it means you have already been convicted and you better cooperate
The US on Wednesday favoured a thorough investigation into killing of a Khalistani separatist in Canada in June, two days after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegations of a "potential" involvement of Indian government agents in the case kicked up a major diplomatic row between New Delhi and Ottawa.
The external affairs minister also said that India is likely to resume issuance of visas to Canadians if it sees progress in the safety of Indian diplomats in Canada.
The ties between India and Canada came under severe strain following Trudeau's allegations on September 18 of a 'potential' involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on June 18 in British Columbia.
India on Thursday strongly rejected as 'baseless' allegations of its interference in Canadian elections and asserted that the core issue has been Ottawa's meddling in New Delhi's internal affairs.
Joly said that Ottawa stands by its decision to inform Canadians about the allegations surrounding the killing of Nijjar, but remains engaged with the Indian government on the issue.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said Canada has shared with India evidence of "credible allegations" about the involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar many weeks ago.
India on Friday rejected Canada's attempt to 'portray' the withdrawal of 41 of Canadian diplomats from the country as a violation of international norms, and asserted that ensuring two-way diplomatic parity is fully consistent with the provisions of Vienna convention on diplomatic relations.
Weeks before Canada made an explosive allegation implicating Indian officials in the killing of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Canadian officials sought public condemnation of the murder from their allies, including the United States, but were met with reluctance, The Washington Post reported.
"If you have a reason to make such an allegation please share the evidence because we are not ruling out an investigation," Jaishankar, who is on a five-day official visit to the United Kingdom, said while responding to a question.
Amardeep Singh, 22, a resident of Brampton, Surrey, and Abbotsford areas of Canada, has been charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
"Indians will decide the fate of India, not the foreigners," Verma told the Montreal Council on Foreign Relations, a prominent think-tank.
Admitting for the first time, a top United States diplomat has confirmed that there was 'shared intelligence among Five Eyes partners' that had prompted Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's offensive allegation about Indian agents' involvement in the killing of a Khalistani extremist on Canadian soil, according to a media report on Saturday.
Blinken and US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin were in Delhi for the fifth edition of the '2+2' dialogue.
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