India has suspended visa services for Canadian citizens from Thursday, visa consultancy service provider BLS International said on its website, citing a notice from the Indian mission. Canada said on Monday that it was “actively pursuing credible allegations” linking Indian government agents to the murder of a Sikh separatist leader in British Columbia in June. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has categorically rejected Canada’s suspicions that Indian agents had links to the murder. BLS International said that the notice from the Indian mission cited “operational reasons” for suspension of visa services “till further notice”.

Meanwhile, Sukhdool Singh, another Sikh separatist leader, was shot dead by unknown men in Canada’s Winnipeg on Wednesday. Singh, who had fled to Canada from India’s Punjab in 2017, was shot about 15 times. Sukhdool Singh was from Punjab’s Moga district. Singh’s killing comes at a time when India-Canada relations are perhaps at an all-time low, after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged in parliament that India had a hand in killing a Canadian citizen on Canadian soil.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)