India issues Canada travel warning after diplomatic row

India on Wednesday advised its citizens to be careful when travelling to Canada as a rift between the two nations widens further in the wake of Ottawa’s allegations that India may have been involved in the killing of a Sikh separatist leader in suburban Vancouver.

The foreign ministry in New Delhi issued an updated travel advisory, urging its nationals and especially those studying in the North American country to be cautious because of “growing anti-India activities and politically condoned hate-crimes.”

Indians should also avoid going to venues in Canada where “threats have particularly targeted Indian diplomats and sections of the Indian community who oppose anti-India agenda,” the ministry said.

Ottawa and New Delhi, two key strategic partners on security and trade, are locked in a diplomatic tussle after Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, alleged that India was connected to the killing of Sikh man on its soil in June.

Canada has yet to provide any evidence of Indian involvement in the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a 45-year-old Sikh man killed by masked gunmen in Surrey, outside Vancouver.

For years, India has said Nijjar, a Canadian citizen born in India, has links to terrorism, an allegation he denied.

Trudeau’s announcement was followed by Canada expelling an Indian diplomat in Ottawa. New Delhi responded by rejecting Trudeau’s accusation as “absurd and motivated” and later expelling a Canadian diplomat.

India’s foreign ministry also said Trudeau’s allegations “seek to shift the focus from terrorists and extremists, who have been provided shelter in Canada and continue to threaten India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

The ministry regularly issues travel advisories. In September last year, it asked Indian citizens to remain cautious while travelling in Canada because of “sharp increase in incidents of hate crimes, sectarian violence and anti-India activities" there.

The duelling expulsions of diplomats have escalated tensions — Trudeau had frosty encounters with Modi during this month’s Group of 20 meeting in New Delhi, and a few days later Canada cancelled a trade mission to India planned for the fall.

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