India is a perpetrator of foreign interference, says Canada’s intelligence agency

TORONTO – India is a perpetrator of foreign interference, Canada’s intelligence agency said in a report published on June 18, just after India’s and Canada’s prime ministers

vowed to strengthen ties

at a global summit hosted by Canada.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held what both sides called productive talks on June 17 at the Group of Seven (G-7) summit in Alberta and agreed to reinstate top diplomats they had withdrawn in 2024.

Mr Carney drew outrage from some members of Canada’s Sikh community when he invited Mr Modi to the G-7.

Canada-India relations have been tense since former prime minister Justin Trudeau in 2023

accused India’s government

of involvement in the June 18, 2023, murder of Mr Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh separatist leader in Canada.

Mr Modi’s government has denied involvement in Mr Nijjar’s killing and has accused Canada of providing a safe haven for Sikh separatists.

The intelligence report noted transnational repression “plays a central role in India’s activity in Canada”, though it said China poses the greatest counter-intelligence threat to Canada and also named Russia, Iran and Pakistan.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said in October that they had communicated more than a dozen threats to Sikhs advocating for the creation of a homeland carved out of India.

“Indian officials, including their Canada-based proxy agents, engage in a range of activities that seek to influence Canadian communities and politicians,” the Canadian Security Intelligence Service report reads.

“These activities attempt to steer Canada’s positions into alignment with India’s interests on key issues, particularly with respect to how the Indian government perceives Canada-based supporters of an independent homeland they call Khalistan.”

The Indian High Commission and the Chinese Embassy in Canada did not respond to requests for comment. REUTERS