Washington

Amid the diplomatic sparring and souring of bilateral ties in the wake of Canadian PM Justin Trudeau’s allegation of Indian involvement in the killing of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the Special Envoy and Coordinator, Global Engagement Center, James Rubin said the standoff was a tricky subject as he sought cooperation into the investigation as far as it goes.

During a virtual press briefing on October 5, the US special envoy said, This is a tricky subject. Let me just say that we support Canada’s investigation. We want everyone to help – including the Indian Government – help advance the investigation into this terrible assassination, and we would urge everyone to cooperate and to take the investigation as far as it goes.

Amid the diplomatic spat, New Delhi suspended the visa operations to Canada and sought a reduction in Canadian diplomatic presence in India citing interference in internal matters.

Addressing the press briefing on Thursday, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, Given the much higher presence of diplomats or diplomatic presence here…and their continued interference in our internal matters, we have sought parity in our respective diplomatic presence. Discussions are ongoing on the modalities of achieving this.

Given that Canadian diplomatic presence is higher, we would assume that there would be a reduction, he added.

Asked if the reduction in the number of Canadian diplomats could result in a decrease in the number of visas issued by the Canadian High Commission in India, Bagchi said, It’s up to the Canadian side, who they choose to staff the High Commission with…our concerns are related to ensuring parity in diplomatic presence.