Pro-Khalistan Extremism Is a Threat to Canada

Such a Reference to Khalistani Extremism Was Missing From the Canadian Spy Agency's Report for 2023

- Anirudh Bhattacharyya

NEW DELHI: Canada's spy agency has said that India's alleged foreign interference activities have been driven by concerns of pro-Khalistan extremism emerging from Canada, acknowledging that some extremists use Canada as a base for planning violence in India.

The admission is in the section on Politically Motivated Religious Extremism or PMVE in the Canadian Security Intelligence Service or CSIS' annual report to Parliament for 2024, which was tabled in the House of Commons on Friday but only published publicly on Wednesday.

"Since the mid-1980s, the 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," the report said.

"While there were no CBKE-related attacks in Canada in 2024, ongoing involvement in violent activities by CBKEs continues to pose a national security threat to Canada and Canadian interests. In particular, real and perceived Khalistani extremism emerging from Canada continues to drive Indian foreign interference activities in Canada," the report noted.