India has demanded that Canada recall about 40 diplomats by October 10, the British Financial Times newspaper reported, citing informed sources.
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“New Delhi has told Ottawa it must return about 40 diplomats by October 10,” the newspaper said.
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According to one of the interlocutors, India has threatened to revoke diplomatic immunity for diplomats who remain beyond the specified date.
One of the sources clarified that there are 62 Canadian diplomats working in India, and New Delhi is seeking the recall of 41 of them.
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Earlier, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that law enforcement officers suspect Indian authorities of involvement in the murder of the leader of the Sikh community in the Canadian province of British Columbia, Hardeep Singh Nizhar, who was shot dead by unknown assailants in June in the parking lot of a temple. Shortly after Trudeau’s statement, Canada expelled a senior Indian diplomat from the country, who, according to media reports, was related to Indian foreign intelligence.
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In response to the expulsion of their diplomat, the Indian authorities announced a similar retaliatory measure, asking him to leave the country within five days, and the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs advised its citizens in Canada to exercise utmost caution “due to growing anti-Indian activity” and the deteriorating security situation.
