India suspended visa issuance in Canada on security grounds
New Delhi: The Government on Thursday pressed ahead with more retaliatory measures against Ottawa including the suspension of visas from its missions in the country and asking the High Commission here to reduce its staff so as to be commensurate with the Indian staff strength in Canada.
India also said Canada has provided no specificinformation regarding Sikh terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijar’s murder on June 18. On the other hand, Canada has not acted on any of the several dossiers provided by India on the activities of Indian-origin terrorists, radicals and gangsters who have found a safe haven in Canada, said MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi at a media briefing here on Thursday.
On Wednesday, the Government had issued a strongly-worded travel advisory on Canada and a day earlier, it had expelled the Station Head of Canadian Intelligence posted here.
“Clearly, we would expect better steps from the Canadians to ensure the safety of the diplomats and the Indian origin community in Canada. There are elements linked to organised crime, terrorists and extremists who are having a free run and committing politically condoned crimes. We would hope the Indian community and diplomats would feel safe,” observed Bagchi.
