India has decided to suspend its visa services for Canadian nationals until further notice amid an ongoing diplomatic dispute between the two countries. This dispute revolves around allegations that Indian government agents may be connected to the murder of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada in June.
An announcement posted on the website of BLS International, an online visa application centre in India that offers visa consultancy services, states, "Important notice from Indian Mission: Due to operational reasons, Indian visa services have been suspended until further notice, effective from 21st September 2023. Please continue to monitor the BLS website for further updates."
These recent developments occurred just three days after Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau made allegations against India regarding a potential link to the murder of Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
During an address to the Canadian Parliament on Monday, Prime Minister Trudeau asserted that Indian agents were responsible for the fatal shooting of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who served as the president of Surrey's Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara and was the chief of the Khalistan Tiger Force.
Trudeau claimed that Canada's national security authorities had credible reasons to suspect that "agents of the Indian government" were involved in the killing of the Canadian citizen.
In response to Canada's allegations, India has characterized them as "absurd" and "motivated." The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) issued an official statement stating, "We have reviewed and dismissed the statement made by the Canadian Prime Minister in their Parliament, as well as the statement made by their Foreign Minister."
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