Canada on Wednesday advised its citizens to exercise “high degree of caution” while travelling to India due to threat of “terrorist attacks throughout the country”.
The advisory came days after the Ministry of External Affairs last week advised Indians living in Canada and those travelling to the country to remain vigilant amid a “sharp increase in hate crimes and anti-India activities”.
The updated travel advisory issued by Canada on Wednesday asked its citizens to avoid travelling to states like Punjab, Rajasthan, and Gujarat that border Pakistan, due to the “unpredictable security situation and presence of landmines and unexploded ordnance”.
The advisory also cautioned Canadians to avoid travelling to Assam, Manipur and Jammu and Kashmir due to insurgency and terrorism.
India had issued the advisory on September 23, a day after the foreign ministry raised objections to Canadian authorities allowing a “Khalistan referendum” to take place in Ontario on September 19.
Several Canadian Sikhs voted in the referendum organised by the banned Sikhs for Justice group, which aims to create a country for Sikhs by seceding from India.
India’s advisory was seen as a reproach to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau who had earlier extended his support to farmers’ protest in 2020, reported The Indian Express. The Sikhs For Justice had criticised India’s advisory as a threat to freedom of speech and expression of Sikhs in Canada who are supporting the “liberation of Punjab”, reported the newspaper.
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