India pushes parity in diplomatic presence

NEW DELHI: Following reports that Canada has rejected India's call for downsizing its missions here, the government on Thursday said it will continue to work towards ensuring parity in diplomatic presence and that its demand is in line with the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations.
India had asked Canada to reduce its staff strength here saying Canadian diplomats were involved in anti-India activities.This followed the controversy that erupted from Canadian PM Justin Trudeau's allegation that Indian agents had a role in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada.
While Trudeau has been raising the issue in his diplomatic engagements with foreign leaders, the Indian government reminded him on Thursday that the core issue between the two countries right now was Canada's support to terrorists and criminals. It also urged Canada to take seriously its obligations to provide security to Indian diplomats.
Recently, Trudeau discussed the Canada-India diplomatic row with the leaders of Jordan and the UAE saying that international law had to be respected.
Foreign ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi rejected the reported Canadian position that India's demand for cutting staff strength was not compliant with the Vienna Convention. "On our part, I can assure that everything India is doing is in compliance with the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations," he said, adding that India was still engaged in finalising the modalities for parity in diplomatic presence.
While the Canadian media had reported that there was a October 10 deadline set by India for Canada to pull out its diplomats, the Indian government is yet to confirm that there was any such deadline.
It also did not confirm in a media briefing on Thursday if foreign minister S Jaishankar had a "secret" meeting with his Canadian counterpart Melanie Joly in Washington last month. "We have been in touch with Canadians at various levels. Regarding any specific interaction, I do not have any particular information to share," he said.
Jaishankar was in the US capital from September 27 to 30 after concluding a five-day trip to New York for the UN General Assembly.