India has suspended visa processing in Canada, the service provider announced Thursday, in the midst of a diplomatic crisis between the two countries since Ottawa said it suspected the Indian government of being involved in the assassination of a leader Canadian Sikh in June.
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“Important notice from the Indian Mission: For operational reasons, effective September 21, 2023, Indian visa services have been suspended until further notice,” BLS International, an Indian service provider, said on its website on Thursday. outsourcing for government and diplomatic missions around the world.
On Tuesday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau asked India to “take seriously” the matter of the death of Hardeep Singh Nijjar and the suspicions of the involvement of New Delhi agents raised on Monday by Ottawa, which said rely on “credible elements”.
The Indian government called the Canadian accusations “absurd” and denied “any act of violence in Canada.”
Diplomatic relations between Canada and India have since been at an all-time low, marked by reciprocal expulsions of diplomats.
On Wednesday, the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed concern for its nationals traveling to Canada, “given the increase in anti-Indian activities and hate and criminal crimes with political connotations in Canada”.
“Recently, threats have particularly targeted Indian diplomats and members of the Indian community who oppose the anti-Indian agenda,” the ministry added in a statement, advising its fellow citizens “to avoid visiting in regions and potential sites in Canada that have been the scene of such incidents.
“Indian students in particular are advised to exercise extreme caution and remain vigilant,” it said.
Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot dead in June by two masked men in the parking lot of the Sikh temple he led in Surrey, near Vancouver, British Columbia (west). He died of his injuries on the spot.
An activist for the creation of “Khalistan”, an independent Sikh state in northern India, he arrived in Canada in 1997 and was naturalized in 2015.
He was wanted by Indian authorities for alleged acts of terrorism and conspiracy to commit murder.
Accusations that he denied, according to the World Sikh Organization of Canada, a group defending the interests of Canadian Sikhs.
India has often complained about the activity of the Sikh diaspora abroad, particularly in Canada, which according to New Delhi could revive the Sikh separatist movement thanks to massive financial aid.