NEW DELHI: Approximately 40 Canadian diplomats have been requested to be recalled by India, according to a Financial Times story. According to individuals with direct knowledge of the situation, New Delhi has set a deadline of October 10 for the return. India had previously requested that Canada’s 62 ambassadors there be cut by 41, according to the publication. When ties between the two nations reached an all-time low as a result of Ottawa’s accusations against New Delhi over the execution of a Khalistani separatist on Canadian soil, India had earlier requested that Canada reduce its diplomatic representation there. Arindam Bagchi, a spokesman for the ministry of external affairs, claimed that the size of Canada’s diplomatic staff in India was more than that of New Delhi’s staff in Canada and that there should be parity in both strength and rank in the two countries’ presences. Relationships between India and Canada have reached an all-time low as a result of Canadian suspicions that operatives of the Indian government were involved in the killing of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada in June. India had previously designated Nijjar as a “terrorist” and Canada. The accusation has been rejected by India as ludicrous. An “atmosphere of intimidation” and a “climate of violence” against Indian diplomats in Canada, according to earlier comments by Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar.
