India asks Canada to withdraw 41 diplomats by Oct 10 amid Nijjar killing row

New Delhi has told Ottawa that if any of these diplomats stay after October 10, their diplomatic immunity will be revoked.

Amid escalating tensions over the killing of Khalistani terrorist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, India has asked Canada to withdraw 41 of its diplomats from the country by October 10, the Financial Times reported on October 3.

New Delhi has reportedly told Ottawa that the diplomatic immunity of these 41 diplomats will be revoked if any of them stay after October 10.

Moneycontrol could not verify the report independently.

Earlier, India had said it wanted “parity” in the number and grade of diplomats between the two nations. At present, Canada has a higher number of diplomats in Delhi than India has in Ottawa.

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Canada has 62 diplomats in India, and New Delhi has asked them to reduce this number by 41, according to the London-based financial daily.

Diplomatic ties between New Delhi and Ottawa hit the lowest point after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged that New Delhi could be behind Nijjar's killing. Nijjar, branded as a terrorist in India, was shot dead in a parking lot outside a Gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, on June 18.

During a debate in the Canadian Parliament, Trudeau said Canadian security agencies have been "actively pursuing credible allegations of a potential link between agents of the Government of India and the killing of a Canadian citizen, Hardeep Singh Nijjar".

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However, India rejected Trudeau’s allegations as “absurd” and “motivated”.

Earlier, Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar said there was a "climate of violence" and an "atmosphere of intimidation" against Indian diplomats in Canada, where the presence of Sikh separatist groups has frustrated New Delhi.

During an interaction with Indian journalists in Washington last week, the foreign minister said India was ready to look into the information related to Canada's allegations of the "potential" involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Nijjar.