'Good sign' after an 'anxious time': Canada on India's move to resume some visa services amid diplomatic tensions

As India decided to partially resume visa services in Canada, closed last month amid a diplomatic row over the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Canada said the move was a "good sign" after "an anxious time" for many Canadians.

In a release issued on Wednesday, India’s High Commission in Ottawa stated that the services will resume for entry, business, medical and conference visas. The release said the decision was taken after a “considered review of the security situation that takes into account some recent Canadian measures in this regard.”

It also said the High Commission of India in Ottawa, Canada and its Consulates General in Toronto and Vancouver were “constrained to suspended visa services temporarily because of safety and security considerations.”

The decision came a month after New Delhi suspended the services in Canada and for Canadian citizens worldwide as tensions flared between the two nations last month following Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegations of the "potential" involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on June 18 in British Columbia.

India had designated Nijjar as a terrorist in 2020. India has rejected Trudeau's allegations as "absurd" and "motivated".

Immigration Minister Marc Miller called India's move "a good sign" after "an anxious time" for many Canadians.

"Our feeling is that a suspension should never have happened in the first place," he was quoted as saying by CTV News. He said the "really concerning diplomatic situation with India has created a lot of fear in a lot of communities."

Emergency Preparedness Minister Harjit Sajjan, who is also a Sikh, said the resumption of visa processing is good news, but wouldn't speculate on what message New Delhi is trying to send.

"It's good to see that they have resumed that. It would have been nice (if) they didn't take it in the first place," Sajjan told reporters, according to news agency PTI. He said it was important that Indians and Canadians can go back and forth when it comes to events like weddings and funerals.

He added that Ottawa is still seeking India's help as police investigate the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

(With inputs from PTI)

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