Following the October 10 deadline, Canada has started evacuating a majority of its diplomats working in India outside of New Delhi. As per media reports, the diplomats are being taken to either Kuala Lumpur or Singapore. This development came amid an ongoing row over the killing of the Khalistani separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada.
As per media reports, the Indian government has given Ottawa until October 10 to reduce Canadian diplomatic staff in that country to a level on par with the number of Indian diplomats in Canada.
According to the reports by CTV News, a privately owned Canadian television network, the evacuation is taking place as India earlier this week asked Canada to withdraw several dozen diplomats from its missions amid the escalating diplomatic row that stemmed from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's explosive allegation linking Indian agents to the killing of Khalistani separatist Nijjar in June.
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Earlier reports pegged the number of diplomats that would have to leave at 41, but the sources CTV News spoke with said the ask is specific to one of parity.
"A majority of the Canadian diplomats working in India outside of Delhi have been evacuated to either Kuala Lumpur or Singapore," the report said.
Global Affairs Canada, the department that manages the country's diplomatic and consular relations, had previously stated that "with some diplomats having received threats on various social media platforms," it was "assessing its staff complement in India."
"As a result, and out of an abundance of caution, we have decided to temporarily adjust staff presence in India," the department said, just days after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused the Indian government of being involved in the murder.
