Promoting agenda, planning violent activities: CSIS confirms Canada-based Khalistani extremists targeting India

Days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the G7 Summit in Canada at the invitation of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, Canada’s top intelligence agency has made a significant revelation.

For the first time, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) has officially confirmed that Khalistani extremists are using Canadian territory as a base to promote their agenda, raise funds, and plan violent activities — primarily against India.

“Khalistani extremists continue to use Canada as a base for the promotion, fundraising or planning of violence primarily in India,” the report categorically states.

This disclosure, detailed in CSIS’s 2024 annual report, validates official validation to India’s long-standing concerns over the presence and operations of pro-Khalistan groups based in Canada.

“Since the mid-1980s, the politically motivated violent extremism (PMVE) threat in Canada has manifested primarily through Canada-based Khalistani extremists (CBKEs) seeking to use and support violent means to create an independent nation state called Khalistan, largely within Punjab, India,” says the report.

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The CSIS report describes the activities of a small group of Canada-based Khalistani extremists (CBKEs) who continue to pursue their separatist agenda through violent means.

“A small group of individuals are considered Khalistani extremists because they continue to use Canada as a base for the promotion, fundraising or planning of violence primarily in India. In particular, real and perceived Khalistani extremism emerging from Canada continues to drive Indian foreign interference activities in Canada,” the report added.

While CSIS makes a clear distinction between violent extremists and those engaged in peaceful advocacy for Khalistan, it underscores that this minority faction uses Canadian territory as a safe haven to support and coordinate attacks targeting India.

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India-Canada tensions

The report helps clarify several contentious issues that have fueled tensions between Ottawa and New Delhi since the 2023 assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a designated Khalistani terrorist, in British Columbia.

Under Justin Trudeau, Canadian authorities alleged Indian involvement in the killing of Nijjar, a claim India has rejected as “absurd,” accusing Canada in turn of sheltering anti-India elements.

The CSIS report also sheds light on India’s alleged efforts to counter the Khalistan movement through what it characterises as foreign interference activities within Canada, including attempts to target individuals in North America.

Timing of the report

The report coincided with a recent high-profile meeting between PM Caney and PM Modi during the G7 Summit in Alberta, where both the leaders agreed to restore full diplomatic engagement by appointing new high commissioners and resuming stalled trade negotiations, signaling a mutual interest in stabilising bilateral ties.

Carney defended his decision to invite PM Modi amid criticism from Sikh advocacy groups and some Canadian lawmakers, citing India’s global economic influence and the value of open diplomatic channels.

In a broader context, CSIS identifies politically motivated violent extremism as a key national security concern, with Khalistani extremism highlighted as a primary example.

Although no Khalistani attacks occurred on Canadian soil in 2024, the involvement of Canada-based extremists in violent actions abroad remains a significant issue for national security agencies.

With inputs from agencies