Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told parliament on Monday that there were \u201ccredible allegations\u201d of Indian involvement in the assassination of Sikh independence activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who had been wanted by India for years and was gunned down in June outside the temple he led.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Members of the Sikh community in Peshawar, Pakistan protest against the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was killed by masked gunmen in Canada in June.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>AP<\/cite><\/p>\n Canada expelled an Indian diplomat, a move that saw India expel a Canadian diplomat in return on Tuesday. India called the allegations being investigated in Canada absurd and an attempt to shift attention from the presence of Nijjar and other Indian activists in Canada.<\/p>\n \u201cImportant notice from Indian Mission: Due to operational reasons, with effect from September 21. Indian visa services have been suspended till further notice,\u201d the BLS Indian Visa Application Centre in Canada said. It gave no further details. BLS is the agency that processes visa requests for India.<\/p>\n India\u2019s External Affairs Ministry did not immediately comment.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, the ministry issued an updated travel advisory urging its citizens travelling in Canada and especially those studying in the North American country to be cautious because of \u201cgrowing anti-India activities and politically condoned hate crimes.\u201d<\/p>\n Indians should also avoid going to venues in Canada where \u201cthreats have particularly targeted Indian diplomats and sections of the Indian community who oppose anti-India agenda,\u201d the ministry said.<\/p>\n Nijjar, 45, was working to organise an unofficial referendum among the Sikh diaspora on independence from India at the time of his killing. He was gunned down by masked men in British Columbia in June. He had denied India\u2019s accusation that he was a terrorist.<\/p>\n Demands for an independent Sikh homeland, known as Khalistan, started as an insurgency in India\u2019s Punjab state in the 1970s that was crushed in an Indian government crackdown that killed thousands. The movement has since lost much of its political power but still has supporters in Punjab, where Sikhs form a majority, as well as among the sizable overseas Sikh diaspora.<\/p>\n Get a note directly from our foreign <\/i><\/b>correspondents <\/i><\/b>on what\u2019s making headlines around the world. <\/i><\/b>Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter<\/i><\/b>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\nMost Viewed in World<\/h2>\n
From our partners<\/h3>\n