The reported move comes near on the heels of India motioning its determination to reduce the number of Canadian diplomats in the country. Canada has pulled out a maturity of its diplomats posted outside New Delhi and moved them to Malaysia or Singapore amid pressures over Canadian allegations of an Indian link to the payoff of Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, according to a media report on Friday.

Canada’s foreign ministry had also said last month that it was “assessing its staff complement in India” since some diplomats had entered pitfalls on social media platforms.
India signals determination to reduce Canada’s politic presence
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegation about the involvement of Indian government agents in Nijjar’s payoff have taken bilateral ties to a fresh low. India has described the blameworthiness as “absurd” and said it’s willing to consider any information handed by Canada on the incident. Nijjar, designated a terrorist by India, was shot dead by unidentified marks women in the parking lot of a gurdwara in the Canadian city of Surrey in June.

There was, still, no sanctioned word on the developments from Indian or Canadian officers. People familiar with the matter said back channel connections are continuing between the two sides on a range of issues including Nijjar’s payoff and Canada’s politic presence.

A maturity of Canadian diplomats “working in India outside of Delhi have been vacated to either Kuala Lumpur or Singapore”, Canada’s CTV News reported citing sources. The Indian government has given Canada until October 10 to reduce Canadian politic staff to a position at par with the number of Indian diplomats in Canada, the report said.

Besides the high commission in New Delhi, Canada has consulates in Bengaluru, Chandigarh and Mumbai and trade manager service services in New Delhi, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai.

before media reports had said the Indian side has asked Canada to withdraw 41 of its 62 diplomats in India by October 10, failing which their politic impunity will be withdrawn.

Asked about these reports on Thursday, external affairs ministry prophet Arindam Bagchi had only said that conversations were underway on modalities for achieving equality in politic presence, and that there would be a reduction since Canada’s politic presence in India is much advanced.

India motioning its determination to reduce the number of Canadian diplomats in the country in order to achieve equality in politic presence. The external affairs ministry said on Thursday equality was needed in view of the “much advanced politic presence of Canadian diplomats and their continuing hindrance in our internal matters”.

In a separate development, James P. Rubin, the US special envoy and fellow of the Global Engagement Center under the state department, said the current politic row between India and Canada is an area “ripe for information manipulation”. During an online media briefing, Rubin also called on India to help advance the disquisition into Nijjar’s payoff.

“This is a tricky subject. Let me just say that we support Canada’s disquisition. We want everyone to help – including the Indian government – help advance the disquisition into this terrible assassination, and we’d prompt everyone to cooperate and to take the disquisition as far as it goes,” he said.

Responding to a question whether similar controversies are rich ground for intimation juggernauts, including by China, Rubin added “This is obviously an area that’s ripe for information manipulation.”

Rubin noted that manipulators will use any underpinning disgruntlement in a country and

“they ’re getting better and better at it ”. He said, “I haven’t seen any specific substantiation of the Canadian- Indian issue but I do know that China has made a big trouble to intrude in the domestic affairs of Canada.”