India-Canada row: Is Pakistan’s ISI funding Khalistani groups?

As relations between India and Canada took a downturn this week, the role of Pakistan has come into question in fanning the flames. Multiple media reports have hinted at a connection between Pakistan’s intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and pro-Khalistan groups in Canada. Social media is also rife with misinformation amid heightened tensions after Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau alleged Indian government agents’ “potential link” to the murder of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June in British Columbia. Let’s take a look at what’s going on. What has Pakistan said on India-Canada row? Pakistan has called India’s alleged role in Nijjar’s killing a “clear violation of international law and the UN principle of state sovereignty.” Pakistan foreign ministry spokeswoman Mumtaz Zehra Baloch said on Wednesday said the incident is “a reckless and irresponsible act that calls into question India’s reliability as a credible international partner and its claims for enhanced global responsibilities," reported Turkish news agency Anadolu Agency. It shows “that India’s network of extra-territorial killings has now gone global," she told reporters in Islamabad. Pakistan’s foreign secretary Cyrus Qazi reportedly said that Islamabad is not “surprised” by Canada’s allegation against India. Is Pakistan involved? According to News18, Indian intelligence sources have said that Khalistani elements in Canada have been “receiving funds” from Pakistan’s ISI agents in Vancouver. The sources reportedly claimed that Khalistani elements are also taking money from Indian students, who want to settle in the North American nation, under the garb of “immigration” and using them to carry out protests against the Indian High Commission in Canada. About five days back, ISI agents in Canada met leaders of several Khalistani groups in Vancouver, Outlook reported citing intelligence sources. The “secret meeting” was attended by Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) chief Gurpatwant Singh Pannun and other heads of Khalistani outfits. They chalked out a strategy, dubbed ‘Plan-K’, to “extensively” spread anti-India propaganda, according to Outlook. [caption id=“attachment_13153752” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] A poster calling for an investigation on India’s alleged role in the killing of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar at the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara temple in Canada’s Surrey. Reuters[/caption] United States-based Pannun, who was declared a terrorist by India in 2020, recently warned Hindus living in Canada to “go back” to India. As per Times of India (TOI), giving a “Leave Canada - Go To India” call, Pannun alleged, “Indo-Hindus who work against the interests of Canada have effectively repudiated their allegiance to Canada. They must go back to India, the country whose interests they protect and promote while reaping the economic benefits from Canada”. ALSO READ: What is the Five Eyes Alliance? Why is it in spotlight amid India-Canada row?  Misinformation on social media An old video of protests by a Sikh organisation named Dal Khalsa in Punjab’s Amritsar was shared this week with claims of demonstrations against India’s intelligence agency RAW in response to Nijjar’s killing. A day after Trudeau’s allegations, an account on X by the name of ‘The Intel Consortium’ posted the clip and wrote, “Protests have erupted outside the RAW office in Amritsar in response to the tragic killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada. Sikhs are passionately chanting slogans in support of Khalistan.” The video was soon shared by multiple accounts on X, including a user named “Parkash Kumar Bheel” who uses “@Dalitofficial” as its handle. Another account on the microblogging site, which goes by the name ‘D-Intent Data’ and calls itself a “propaganda and fake news detection centre”, said that the Twitter handle “@Dalitofficial” was a “fake Pakistani account” which went by “@Imranbajwapk” earlier. According to the Digital Forensics, Research and Analytics Center report, the video that showed people chanting slogans in support of Khalistan said the clip was posted by a channel named TV84 on 1 July 2023 on YouTube. Moreover, a report in The Tribune dating back to 1 July mentioned: “The police detained the activists of Dal Khalsa who were taking out a march to hold a protest outside the local office of India’s external intelligence agency RAW to protest the killings of Sikh separatists in foreign countries, here on Saturday. The detainees were later released by the police.” The account named Bheel, who as per D-Intent Data was “impersonating” a minority rights activist in India, also shared another misleading post concerning India’s armed forces.

This account from Karachi, Pakistan, has been circulating fake news and hateful propaganda for a long time, those tweets can be found on his timeline. Here, we are sharing some of them. (2/6) pic.twitter.com/yvvgQz3C9i

— D-Intent Data (@dintentdata) September 19, 2023

Certain unsubstantiated claims emerged on social media that after Trudeau’s allegation, the Indian Army started rejecting the leaves of Sikh soldiers. The post, shared by “Bheel”, also claimed that Sikh security personnel at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the official residence of India’s president, have also been replaced. Sharing the “fake” post on Tuesday (19 September), the Indian Army’s Additional Directorate General of Public Information (ADG PI) denied the claims.

#FakeNewsAlert#Beware

Fake messages are being spread on social media by inimical agents about soldiers of #IndianArmy, spreading rumours & hate-mongering.

Safeguard yourselves against such fake news. #IndianArmy pic.twitter.com/7q1icOPXdm

— ADG PI - INDIAN ARMY (@adgpi) September 19, 2023

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“Fake messages are being spread on social media by inimical agents about soldiers of the Indian Army, spreading rumours & hate-mongering. Safeguard yourselves against such fake news,” the account said. The handle “@dalitofficial” is no longer available on X. With inputs from agencies