Amid an ongoing diplomatic standoff with Canada, Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar on Friday said that the situation in Canada where Indian missions and diplomats are threatened and subjected to the violence cannot be normalised. Jaishankar said that the Indian missions and diplomats are under such threats in Canada that the regular functioning of the missions has been compromised. He said that such an environment has developed amid "permissiveness to terrorism, extremism, and violence" in Canada.
Jaishankar's comment come amid high tensions between India and Canada. Earlier this month, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau plunged the bilateral relationship to a new low after he claimed that there were "credible allegations of a potential link" between the Indian government and the death of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada. India has forcefully rejected the allegations.Nijjar, a designated terrorist, was killed in June in Canada's British Columbia province. He was the chief of Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF), which is also a designated terrorist organisation. Following the claim of a "potential" Indian involvement in Nijjar's killing, Trudeau's government expelled a senior Indian diplomat posted in Canada and outed him publicly as belonging to the external intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW). In a tit for tat response, New Delhi also expelled a Canadian diplomat posted in India, who has since been identified as Olivier Sylvester, the station chief of the Canadian intelligence agency in India. Moreover, New Delhi also ordered the downsizing of the Canadian missions in India and suspended visa services for Canadian nationals.