India Suspends Visa Services for Canadians Citing Security Concerns Amid Escalating Hardeep Murder Controversy
Tensions between India and Canada have escalated as India temporarily suspends visa services for Canadian citizens, further intensifying a diplomatic dispute triggered by Canada’s allegations that India may have had a hand in the assassination of a Sikh separatist activist on Canadian soil.
BLS International, the agency responsible for processing Indian visa applications in Canada, formally announced the suspension of visa services in a letter to Indian stock exchanges on Thursday. This suspension, effective from September 21, 2023, is attributed to operational reasons.
Previously, BLS International had posted on its website that India had suspended visa services for Canadians starting on Thursday, citing information from the Indian mission. The notice briefly disappeared on Thursday before reappearing without explanation.
This recent development comes on the heels of India issuing a stern travel advisory the previous day, urging its citizens in Canada to exercise caution and vigilance due to concerns of “politically condoned hate crimes.” The advisory also emphasized the perceived threats targeting Indian diplomats and segments of the Indian community opposed to anti-India agendas, particularly Indian students.
The travel advisory coincided with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s statement regarding “credible allegations” of potential links between “agents of the government of India” and the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh Canadian citizen who was fatally shot by masked assailants in June.
India has vehemently refuted these allegations, characterizing them as “absurd and motivated” and asserting that Canada has not provided specific evidence to substantiate Indian involvement.
India’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Arindam Bagchi, pointed out that India had shared specific evidence of criminal activities by individuals on Canadian soil but had witnessed no corresponding action taken by Canadian authorities. In response to Trudeau’s statement, both India and Canada have expelled senior diplomats, straining their relations and raising concerns of a strained rift between significant US partners.
Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a vocal advocate for Khalistan, a separate Sikh homeland encompassing parts of India’s Punjab state, was gunned down outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, British Columbia, in June. The Khalistan movement is banned in India and regarded as a national security threat.
Nijjar’s name featured on India’s list of UAPA terrorists, and in 2020, the Indian National Investigation Agency accused him of attempting to radicalize the Sikh community worldwide in favor of Khalistan.
The assassination of Nijjar has deeply impacted Canada’s Sikh community, one of the largest outside India, with over 770,000 Sikh members. Canadian authorities have yet to arrest any suspects in connection with his murder but have actively pursued investigations into the case.