INDIA resumed issuing e-visas for Canadian tourists and business travellers on Wednesday (22), two months after it suspended such services following a row over Ottawa's accusation of possible Indian government involvement in the murder of the Canadian Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Though the move is likely to ease tensions slightly, relations between the two countries are not expected to significantly improve in the near future.
"E-visa services to Canadian nationals have resumed," an Indian government official aware of the decision said on the condition of anonymity, as he was not authorised to speak on the subject.
The official did not say if the decision will lead to a significant thaw in the relationship with Ottawa.
India issues e-visas only for tourism and business for Canadian nationals.
It comes a month after New Delhi had resumed visas under four of the 13 categories that had been suspended in September.
Ties between the countries nosedived after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told Canada's parliament that his government was "actively pursuing credible allegations" linking Indian government agents to the murder of Nijjar, 45 in a Vancouver suburb.
Nijjar was a proponent of a decades-long, but now a fringe demand to carve out an independent Sikh homeland from India named Khalistan.
(Reuters)
India restarts tourism and business e-visas for Canadians
The service was suspended following a row over Ottawa’s accusation of possible Indian government involvement in the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar
(From left) Datuk (Sir) SK Lingam, Lord Tariq Ahmad, Tan Sri Sir Francis Yeoh Sock Ping, Mohiuddin Ghazali and Kalpesh Solanki
Tan Sri Sir Francis Yeoh with ASEAN Personality of the Year 2025 – Lifetime Achievement Award
Steve Reed MP, Tan Sri Sir Francis Yeoh and Kalpesh Solanki
(From left) Kalpesh Solanki, Tan Sri Sir Francis Yeoh, Aditya Solanki and Jaimin Solanki
