Canada Becoming Safe Haven For Terrorists, Extremists, Trudeau's Allegations Politically Driven: India Amid Turmoil

Amid escalating diplomatic tensions between India and Canada over the killing of a Khalistani terrorist, Ministry of External Affairs official spokesperson Arindam Bagchi on Thursday said that the allegations by the Justin Trudeau government are "politically driven" and prejudiced. Bagchi said that Canada has a growing reputation as a "safe haven for terrorists and extremists".  

He said that Canada is becoming a place for organised crime and needs to think about its international reputation. "Yes, I do think there is a degree of prejudice here. They have made allegations and taken action on them. To us, it seems that these allegations by the government of Canada are primarily politically driven," Bagchi said.

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 "If you're talking about reputational issues and reputational damage, if there's any country that needs to look at this, I think it is Canada and its growing reputation as a place, as a safe haven for terrorists, for extremists, and for organized crime. And I think that's a country that needs to worry about its international reputation," he added. 

Bagchi's statement comes days after Canada alleged India's involvement in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on its soil in June in British Columbia's Surrey area. 

Since then the already sour relations between India and Canada have only deteriorated with both countries expelling delegates and also calling off long-awaited free-trade agreements. 

Speaking on the security of delegates, Bagchi said that India takes its obligations very seriously and expects the Canadian authorities to show sensitivity to Indian diplomats in the country.

"We will be certainly providing all security to foreign diplomats in India. We also expect Canadian authorities to show similar sensitivity to our diplomats in Canada," he said.

Throwing light on the disruptions of visa services, the MEA said that the issue is not about travel to India but about Canada's inaction on the acts of violence. 

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"Those who have valid visas, OCIs are free to travel to India. The issue is the incitement of violence, inaction by Canadian authorities and the creation of an environment that disrupts the functioning of our consulates which is what is making us stop temporarily the issuance of visa services. We will review this situation on a regular basis," he said.