Canada Retreats; Demands Private Talk With India

After blazing a high octane diplomatic war with India, Canada has taken a defensive stance fearing the repercussions of the allegations it laid on India earlier. Canada is requesting a private diplomatic talk with India in order to ease the developing tensions between the two countries and find a solution to this standoff. The foreign minister of Canada Melanie Joly announced Canada’s willingness to discuss the matter with New Delhi privately.

This comes shortly after India ordered 41 diplomats from Canada to leave the country before 10th of October. This was a huge step taken by India as there are only 62 Canadian diplomats in the country out of which 41 are ousted. The foreign minister of Canada cited the diplomats’ safety as a major priority and insisted on dealing through this crisis through talks.

The tension between India and Canada started when the latter accused the former of being involved in the murder of a Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Hardeep was accused of promoting khalistani activities and India had categorized him as a terrorist.

The allegations were completely denied by New Delhi even though Canada claimed to have credible evidence regarding involvement of Indian government officials in the June murder. This is the first time since the allegations were raised that Canada seem to be on the backfoot.