India reportedly urges Canada to withdraw a large number of diplomatic personnel

Canada has been asked by India to recall approximately 40 diplomatic staff from the country, leading to an escalation in the ongoing crisis between the two nations. According to reports, if the staff members remain in India past 10 October, they will lose their diplomatic immunity. The tensions began when Canada suggested that India might be responsible for the assassination of a Sikh separatist leader on Canadian soil, an accusation that India vehemently denied. Responding to the reports, an Indian foreign ministry official declined to comment. In recent days, India has requested that Canada match its diplomatic missions in order to address the current crisis. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated on Tuesday that he had no intention of escalating the rift and that his government would engage with India responsibly and constructively. This crisis has strained the historically close ties between the two nations. In September, Trudeau implied that India may have played a part in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen. India denied the allegation but expressed a willingness to review any specific information provided by Canada. As a result of this dispute, both countries have expelled one diplomat each. India also halted the issuance of visas to Canadian citizens, citing security threats, and expressed a desire for parity in rank and diplomatic strength between the two nations’ diplomatic missions. Canada, for its part, announced a reduction in its personnel in India, citing threats received on social media. Despite these tensions, Canada's visa services in India remain operational. The US, UK, and Australia have urged India to cooperate with Canada's investigation. India has had a strong reaction to demands for Khalistan, a separate Sikh homeland, from Sikh separatists in Western nations. Hardeep Singh Nijjar openly supported the Khalistan movement. The movement, which saw a violent insurgency centered in the Sikh-majority Punjab state in the 1980s, was suppressed through force.