‘Constant Interference…’: Jaishankar on Why India Asked for Diplomatic Parity With Canada – News18

Justifying India’s move to pressure Canada to downsize its diplomatic presence in New Delhi, EAM S Jaishankar on Sunday said there was interference by Canadian personnel in the country’s internal affairs adding that India does not approve of certain segments of Canadian politics.

“Parity is very much provided for by the Vienna Convention, which is the relevant international rule on this. In our case, we invoked parity because we had concerns about continuous interference in our affairs by Canadian personnel,” Jaishankar said.

The External Affairs Minister also said that the India-Canada relations are “going through a difficult phase.”

This comes after Canada announced that 41 of its diplomats in India have departed, a day before the deadline set by New Delhi for their withdrawal, failing which they were liable to lose diplomatic immunity.

Later, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that the Indian government’s crackdown on Canadian diplomats was making normal life difficult for millions of people in both countries.

Jaishankar on India Resuming Issuance of Visas to Canadians

The external affairs minister also said that India is likely to resume the issuance of visas to Canadian citizens if it sees progress in the safety of Indian diplomats in Canada.

“If we see progress in the safety of our diplomats in Canada, we would like to resume issuance of visas there,” Jaishankar said at an event while replying to a question on India-Canada ties.

India in September announced the temporary suspension of the issuance of visas to Canadian citizens and asked Ottawa to downsize its diplomatic presence in the country after Trudeau alleged a “potential” involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

(With PTI inputs)