Canada advises ‘high degree of caution’ to its citizens travelling to India

Canada on Tuesday asked its citizens travelling to India to “exercise a high degree of caution” in an updated travel advisory. The development came amid rising tensions between the two countries over Ottawa’s accusations that New Delhi may have been involved in the assassination of a Sikh separatist leader on Canadian soil.

India has rejected the charges as “absurd and motivated”. It also expelled a Canadian diplomat, a tit-for-tat move after Canada expelled an official of the Indian foreign intelligence service.

In the fresh travel advisory on India, the Canadian government cautioned its citizens against “threat of terrorist attacks throughout the country”. The advisory categorically warned against traveling to Jammu and Kashmir, Assam and violence-hit Manipur.

“The security situation in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir is tense,” it said. “There are high risks of violent protests, civil unrest and acts of terrorism and militancy.”

For the North East, the advisory warned that several extremist and insurgent groups were active and regularly target government officials and security forces. “Violent demonstrations have been taking place in Manipur since May 3, 2023, resulting in casualties ,” the advisory said. “Protests have led to disruptions to traffic and public transportation.”

The advisory was updated after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters that Canada was not trying to provoke India by...

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