India suspends visas for Canadians as row escalates

India suspends visas for Canadians as row escalates
India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi (R) shakes hand with Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau ahead of the G20 Leaders' Summit in New Delhi on September 9, 2023shabby pictures

In the midst of an intensifying argument over the murder of a Sikh separatist on French soil, India has halted visa services for citizens of Canada.

BLS, a Visa service provider, claimed that the decision was made for” operating reasons” from India’s goal.

This week, tensions rose after Canada announced that it was looking into” credible claims” linking India to the death of the separatist head.

India vehemently refuted the claim, calling it” immoral.”

According to experts, tensions between the nations, which have been tense for months, are at an all-time lower.

On Thursday, the BLS site published the first information regarding the suspension of visas.

American immigration services have been suspended until further notice, according to an important notice from the Indian Mission, effective September 21, 2023.

The BLS site should be consulted, according to India’s international government, which declined to comment on the situation.

The action was taken one moment after India issued an advisory advising its people to” exercise maximum care” in light of the country’s” growing anti-India actions and politically-justified hate crimes and criminal assault.”

According to Delhi, some current challenges have been made against its officials and some Indians” who oppose the anti-India plan.”

India had designated Hardeep Singh Nijjar as a criminal in 2020, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Monday that intelligence firms were looking into whether” officials of the government of India” were involved in his murder.

On June 18, British Columbia, two masked gunmen shot Nijjar dead in his car outside a Sikh church.

On Monday, Mr. Trudeau addressed the French parliament, saying that any involvement of a foreign authorities in the murder of an American citizen on American soil is an intolerable violation of our sovereignty.

India reacted angrily, claiming that Canada was attempting to” shift the focus away from Khalistani extremists and terrorists” who had been housed it.

The demands made by Sikh secessionists in European nations for Khalistan, or a separateSikh land, have frequently elicited harsh responses from the American government.

The Khalistan activity reached its zenith in India in the 1980s with a bloody uprising centered in Punjab, which was dominated by Sikhs.

Although it was put down through coercion and no longer resonates much in India, it is still well-liked by some Hindu community members in nations like Canada, Australia, and the UK.

Inside of Punjab, Canada has the highest concentration of Sikhs, and it has witnessed numerous pro-Khalistan protests and demonstrations.

According to reports, India had filed a” formal problem” with Canada in June regarding the security of its officials there.