India Canada Row: Due to the possibility of terrorist strikes, Canada has amended its travel recommendation for India and advised its nationals to “exercise a high degree of caution” throughout the nation. The Canadian government released a statement that said, “Exercise a high degree of caution in India due to the threat of terrorist attacks throughout the country.”
Canada Withdraws Ambassadors from India
The revised advice was issued only hours after Canada declared it was pulling 41 ambassadors out of India due to a diplomatic spat with the country over the June murder of terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a member of the Khalistani movement. India has threatened to unilaterally revoke the diplomats’ official status by Friday if they did not leave, according to Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly. She went on to say that this action was “unreasonable and unprecedented and clearly violated the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations.”
Defending Diplomatic Immunity and Service Changes in India
Joly said, “If we allow the norm of diplomatic immunity to be broken, no diplomats anywhere on the planet would be safe. So for this reason, we will not reciprocate.” 42 dependents travelled with the 41 diplomats. Additionally, Canada stopped providing in-person services at its consulates in Mumbai, Bengaluru, and Chandigarh. As a result, the most recent travel advisory from Canada advises its people to “contact the High Commission of Canada in India” in New Delhi if they need any help.
Non-Essential Travel Warnings and Restricted Regions in India
In addition to advising caution, Canada has advised its people to stay away from “non-essential” travel, as well as to avoid travelling at all in some areas of India. As per the official announcement, Canadian citizens are advised not to travel to Assam and Manipur unless absolutely necessary because of the potential “risk of terrorism and insurgency”. Travel to Jammu and Kashmir and the three states that share Pakistan’s borders is discouraged for Canadians.
Canada’s India Travel Warnings
The advisory stated, “Avoid all travel to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir due to the unpredictable security situation. There is a threat of terrorism, militancy, civil unrest and kidnapping.” It added, “travelling to or within Ladakh is, however, excluded.” The “unpredictable security situation and presence of landmines and unexploded ordnance” in Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Punjab has also resulted in the discouragement of all forms of travel to areas within 10 km of the border with Pakistan. The Wagah border crossing is not mentioned in the notice, though.
India’s Request and Canada’s Response
India requested that Canada remove about 40 diplomats by October 10 earlier this month due to deteriorating diplomatic relations between the two nations. The Financial Times was informed by a person with knowledge of the situation that India had threatened to revoke any Canadian diplomat’s diplomatic immunity if they continued to stay in the nation after October 10. India cautioned its people living in Canada and those considering travel there last month to proceed with “utmost caution” due to the rise in anti-Indian activities and “politically-cordoned” hate crimes that had occurred there.
The Disputed Claims Surrounding Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s Death
Following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s assertion that there was solid evidence linking Indian agents to Nijjar’s death, diplomatic relations between India and Canada have never been better. India called the charges “absurd” and dismissed them. Nijjar was shot and killed in front of a gurdwara in a suburb of Vancouver.
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