VOIWORLD
In a move indicating diplomatic thaw between India and Canada, India has reinstated electronic visa services for Canadian nationals. The development comes two months after Canada accused the South Asian country of involvement in the death of a Sikh separatist in Canada.
An Indian foreign ministry official said Wednesday that the electronic visa was restored. The action may help to defuse tensions between the two countries, who have traded allegations and expelled one other’s diplomats, with India imposing a visa block on Canadian citizens.
The two nations embroiled in a diplomatic row after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated in September that there were “credible allegations” of Indian involvement in the death of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, British Columbia.
Nijjar, a 45-year-old Sikh activist and plumber, was assassinated by masked assailants in Surrey, near Vancouver, in June.
For years, India claimed Nijjar, a Canadian citizen born in India, had ties to terrorism, which he denied. India called the Canadian claim that it was involved in his death “absurd.” Despite strong defence and trade links, New Delhi’s concerns about Sikh separatist movements in Canada have long strained relations between the two countries.
Previously, India accused Canada of harbouring separatists and “terrorists.”
The claim heightened tensions, prompting Canada to remove 41 of its 62 diplomats in India after New Delhi threatened to revoke their diplomatic immunity, which Canadian authorities described as a violation of the Geneva Convention. Last month, India lifted the embargo and began services for Canadian nationals seeking entrance, business, medical, and conference visas.
https://www.voiworld.com/us-b1-b2-visa-appointment-wait-drops-across-india/
