India targeting Sikh separatist movement in North America: Canada

OTTAWA: India has a “clear intent” to target members of a Sikh separatist movement in North America, a Canadian intelligence report said on Wednesday after leaders of the two nations agreed to turn the page on a bitter spat over an assassination.

Prime Minister Mark Carney, who took office in March, welcomed his counterpart Narendra Modi to the Canadian Rockies as a guest at a summit of the Group of Seven major economies.

They agreed during bilateral talks on Tuesday to name new high commissioners, as ambassadors are known between Commonwealth nations, in hopes of restoring normal operations for citizens and businesses.

A rift had emerged after Carney´s predecessor Justin Trudeau publicly accused India of involvement in the assassination of a Sikh separatist on Canadian soil and expelled the Indian ambassador, triggering a furious reciprocal response from India.

In a report published on Wednesday, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service said the slaying of Hardeep Singh Nijjar near Vancouver signaled “a significant escalation in India´s repression efforts against the Khalistan movement and a clear intent to target individuals in North America.”

CSIS also identified India as a persistent foreign interference threat, along with China, Russia and others.

“Canada must remain vigilant about continued foreign interference conducted by the government of India, not only within ethnic, religious and cultural communities, but also in Canada´s political system,” CSIS said.

The agency said it would continue to monitor India´s activities in Canada, while a police investigation into Nijjar´s murder continued.

Canada is home to the largest Sikh diaspora outside India. Making up about two percent of the Canadian population and clustered in suburban swing areas, the community has exerted growing political influence.

Nijjar, a naturalised Canadian citizen who advocated for an independent Sikh state called Khalistan, was shot dead in the parking lot of a Sikh temple in British Columbia in June 2023.

India has denied involvement in the killing and said Canada should take more action against violent advocates for Khalistan, which has been reduced to a fringe movement inside India.

The United States has also accused an Indian agent of involvement in an unsuccessful plot against a Sikh separatist on US soil.

At the conclusion of the G7 summit in Kananaskis, all of the leaders issued a statement that condemned state-sponsored “transnational repression,” including targeted assassinations.