India has officially approved diplomatic accreditation for the Managing Director of the Saskatchewan India office.
His visa, according to a report from Tribune India, was among the 41 withdrawn by India last year, following tensions between the two countries related to the assassination of Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June last year, VisaGuide.World reports.
It is solely because of Saskatchewan’s strong bilateral relationship with India that this significant accreditation will be granted. With more than 25 per cent of all Canadian trade with India originating from Saskatchewan, it is vitally important that our two jurisdictions continue our strong relationship independent of the challenges that exist at the national level.
Previously, authorities in India decided to restore electronic visa services for Canadians. The new changes were confirmed by an Indian Foreign Ministry official.
Restoring the electronic visa services was considered a move that would help ease the tensions between the two countries that threw accusations towards each other’s addresses following the Canadian PM’s comments.
In September 2023, Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, said that there were allegations of Indian involvement in the assassination of a Sikh separatist in Canada.
Trudeau’s Allegations Were Not Supported by Other Countries
On June 18, 2023, Nijjar, 45, was shot dead in Surrey, which has a large Sikh population. According to Reuter, Nijjar was campaigning for the creation of an independent Sikh homeland carved out of India.
Soon after, PM Trudeau in Parliament said that India may have been involved in the killing of a Canadian citizen. However, such comments were not backed by any of Canada’s most significant allies such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia or New Zealand.
In spite of both territories declaring concerns regarding the situation and urging a full investigation, none of them condemned India for its alleged involvement.
Besides, Trudeau’s comments were considered absurd by authorities in India. In September last month, authorities in Canada threw out India’s top intelligence officer in the country, while authorities in India expelled his Canadian counterpart.
On September 22, 2023, authorities in India suspended issuing visas to Canadians while calling on the latter to reduce its diplomatic presence in India. Two months later India resumed issuing visas to Canadians.