Canada said Thursday it had withdrawn 41 diplomats from India — fallout from a bitter row over the killing of a Sikh separatist on Canadian soil.
New Delhi planned to revoke diplomatic immunity for all but 21 of Canada’s diplomats and their families by Friday, forcing Ottawa to pull out the others, Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said.
“We have facilitated their safe departure from India,” Joly added. “This means that our diplomats and their families have now left.”
Relations between India and Canada have plunged since Ottawa last month publicly linked Indian intelligence to the killing of Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar near Vancouver in June.
Nijjar advocated for a separate Sikh state carved out of India.
Canada has called for India to cooperate in the investigation but New Delhi has rejected the allegations and taken countermeasures, such as shutting down visa services for Canadians.
