Following the killing of terrorist Hardeep Singh and giving Ottawa an Oct. 10 deadline to cut its diplomatic staff, canada has moved most of its diplomatic staff out of New delhi to Kuala Lumpur or Singapore. The report on CTV news, a privately owned Canadian television network, came after india earlier this week reportedly asked canada to withdraw several diplomats in a diplomatic spat following accusations by Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau. The indian government has given Ottawa until october 10 to reduce the number of Canadian diplomatic staff in Ottawa to match the number of indian consular officers in canada, CTV news quoted. Earlier reports put the number at 41 diplomats, but sources CTV news spoke with said they were specific to equality. "Most Canadian embassies working in india outside New delhi have been evacuated to Kuala Lumpur or Singapore," the report said.
Global Affairs canada, the department that manages the country's diplomatic and consular relations, had earlier said it was "evaluating its personnel in India" as "certain diplomats have received threats on various social media platforms". "As a result, and out of an abundance of caution, we have decided to temporarily reposition staff in india," the department said, days after prime minister Justin Trudeau accused the indian government of involvement in the killing.
India on thursday urged canada to reduce its diplomatic presence in the country to achieve parity in power. It accused some Canadian diplomats of interfering in New Delhi's internal affairs. This marks a further deterioration in relations between the two countries. External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagshi said discussions are ongoing in New delhi on ways to come to a mutual diplomatic front, giving a clear indication that india will not revise its position on the issue. However, the spokesperson did not respond to questions on reports that october 10 was the deadline set by New delhi to Ottawa to reduce the number of its ambassadors in India.
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