According to a media source on Friday, Canada has withdrawn the majority of its diplomats stationed outside of New Delhi and relocated them to Malaysia or Singapore amid tensions over Canadian suspicions of an Indian role to the execution of Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
The rumored move follows India's announcement that it intends to cut the number of Canadian ambassadors in the country in order to attain diplomatic parity. The foreign ministry stated on Thursday that parity was essential due to "the much higher diplomatic presence of Canadian diplomats...and their continuing interference in our internal affairs."
However, neither Indian nor Canadian officials issued an official statement on the happenings. According to people acquainted with the situation, the two sides are maintaining back channel communications on a variety of matters, including Nijjar's death and Canada's diplomatic presence.
According to CTV News, the majority of Canadian diplomats "working in India outside of Delhi have been evacuated to either Kuala Lumpur or Singapore." According to the article, the Indian government has given Canada until October 10 to decrease Canadian diplomatic staff to a level comparable to the number of Indian diplomats in Canada.
Canada has consulates in Bengaluru, Chandigarh, and Mumbai, as well as trade commissioner service offices in New Delhi, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Mumbai.
According to previous media reports, the Indian side has requested that Canada evacuate 41 of its 62 diplomats in India by October 10, failing which their diplomatic immunity will be revoked.
When asked about these claims on Thursday, Arindam Bagchi, spokesperson for the External Affairs Ministry, simply indicated that conversations were underway on methods for achieving parity in diplomatic presence, and that there will be a reduction because Canada's diplomatic representation in India is significantly greater.
Last month, Canada's foreign ministry stated that it was "assessing its staff complement in India" after several diplomats received threats on social media sites.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's claim that Indian government agents were involved in Nijjar's murder has brought bilateral relations to a new low. India has called the accusation "absurd" and stated that it is open to any information offered by Canada regarding the incident. Nijjar, a terrorist designated by India, was killed in June by unidentified gunmen in the parking lot of a gurdwara in the Canadian town of Surrey.
Separately, James P. Rubin, the US special envoy and coordinator of the State Department's Global Engagement Center, stated that the present diplomatic spat between India and Canada is "ripe for information manipulation." During an online media briefing, Rubin also urged India to assist in the inquiry into Nijjar's death.
"This is a difficult subject. Let me just state unequivocally that we support Canada's probe. "We want everyone to help advance the investigation into this terrible assassination, including the Indian government, and we would urge everyone to cooperate and take the investigation as far as it can go," he said.
In response to a query about whether such disagreements are ideal ground for disinformation efforts, including those conducted by China, Rubin said, "This is obviously an area that is ripe for information manipulation."
Manipulators, according to Rubin, will exploit any underlying unhappiness in a country, and "they're getting better and better at it." He continued, "I haven't seen any specific evidence of the Canadian-Indian issue but I do know that China has made a big effort to interfere in the domestic affairs of Canada..."
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