India resumes e-visa services for Canadians after two months of standoff
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New Delhi: India has decided to resume e-visa services for Canadian citizens in what is considered to be a significant step towards easing tensions between two countries.
India and Canada nearly snapped diplomatic ties for over two months after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused India of involvement in the murder of a Khalistani terrorist in the country.
In the thick of tensions both countries had withdrawn diplomats, with India eventually stopping visa processing for Canadian citizens.
Last month Indian government decided to renew certain categories of visa services for Canadian citizens.
Ottawa welcomed the decision calling it a ‘good news for Canadians’.
Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot dead earlier this year by some unidentified assailants outside a gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia.
Justin Trudeau claimed about ‘credible’ links existing between Indian government agents and Nijjar killing.
However, India denied the allegations calling them ‘absurd’ and ‘politically motivated’.
Subsequently, both countries expelled intelligence officers and issued travel advisories to their citizens.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar earlier expressed India’s willingness to relax visa restrictions, and however he said relations between both countries were in ‘difficult phase’.