India and Canada are at odds, and Jaishankar makes it plain that India does not support the suspension of visas

 India and Canada are at odds, and Jaishankar makes it plain that India does not support the suspension of visas

According to sources and as reported by India Today, the External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said on October 7 at a meeting of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee that the decision to suspend Canadian visas is temporary and not final. According to the article, the meeting was convened to address India's G20 leadership. While the MPs expressed their appreciation for the leadership, several also questioned the suspension of Canadian visa services. 

According to sources cited by the newspaper, the Union Minister clarified the situation by saying that the suspension was not intended as retaliation but rather as a measure to ensure the safety of the Indian diplomats.

Because Indian diplomats are not safe in Canada, services are being curtailed. It is a conditional choice rather than a final one. If and when conditions for Indian diplomats working in Canadian embassies and consulates improve, the visa suspension situation could improve, according to sources cited by India Today and the External Affairs Minister.

Jaishankar also said, according to the newspaper, "We can open tomorrow if our embassies are provided protection," to the members of the consultative committee.

Since Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau claimed last month that "Canadian security organizations have been actively investigating credible allegations of a potential connection between agents of the nation's government of India and the executing of Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil on June 18 in British Columbia, there has been a diplomatic standoff between India and Canada. India referred to the claim as "absurd" and responded with a number of punitive steps. Canada has not yet made any public proof of the allegations of Hardeep Singh Nijjar's murder.

Resuming the report, it also included Jaishankar's argument for equal representation of Canadian diplomats in India. He informed the group that whereas India wants security for its diplomats, Canada wants total immunity for its own. He continued by saying that they allow billboards posing a threat to Indian diplomats to be erected in the name of free expression.

Also read: As ambassadors are ordered to depart, Indians applying for Canada visas might soon experience delays.

"They continue to meddle in our domestic issues and let billboards threatening our diplomats to be put up in the guise of freedom of expression, but they are not ready to provide protection and instead want full immunity for their ambassadors. According to reports citing Jaishankar as quoted by India Today, the foreign affairs minister informed the parliamentarians, "They have pushed our hand on this. 

As the deadline to cut diplomatic personnel approaches, recent media sources claimed that Canada had relocated the bulk of its diplomats serving in India to South Asian nations like Kuala Lumpur or Singapore. According to reports, Ottawa was given till October 10 as a deadline to lower the number of Canadian diplomats in India to a level comparable to that of Indian diplomats in Canada.