CSIS Admits Khalistani Extremists Exploit Canada for Anti-India Activities, Echoing India’s Longstanding Concerns

In a landmark development likely to impact Canada-India relations, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) has officially acknowledged that Khalistani extremists are using Canadian territory to promote, finance, and plan violent activities, primarily targeting India.

This revelation, featured in CSIS’s 2024 annual report, marks the first time the country’s premier intelligence agency has so openly confirmed what India has long alleged—that Canada has become a hub for separatist forces aiming to destabilize Indian sovereignty.

Khalistani 'extremists' use Canada for violence in India says, Canadian Intel

Canada intelligence agency CSIS report, in a first says "Khalistani
extremists continue to use Canada as a base for the promotion, fundraising or planning of violence primarily in India" pic.twitter.com/7w8IiLFtDk

— Khalsa Vox (@khalsavox) June 19, 2025

The report states unequivocally that Khalistani extremists “continue to use Canada as a base for the promotion, fundraising or planning of violence primarily in India.” While noting that only a limited number of individuals are involved, CSIS characterizes the movement as a “politically motivated violent extremism” that traces its origins to the 1980s. The agency distinguishes this radical faction from peaceful advocates of Sikh rights.

“Since the mid-1980s, the PMVE [politically motivated violent extremism] 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 explains.

Perhaps most significantly, CSIS warns that this activity is not just a foreign policy concern, but a direct national security threat to Canada itself. The report underscores that the continued presence and actions of Khalistani extremists on Canadian soil are undermining both Canadian interests and the country’s international standing.

This acknowledgment carries added weight given the diplomatic firestorm sparked last year following the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Khalistani separatist gunned down in British Columbia. Then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused Indian agents of orchestrating the murder—allegations that New Delhi flatly rejected as “absurd” and “politically motivated.” India, in turn, criticized Canada for allowing extremist networks to flourish.

The new CSIS report, however, lends credibility to India’s persistent concern that its national security is being compromised by the activities of separatist groups operating abroad—particularly from Canada.

Interestingly, this admission comes as signs emerge of a diplomatic thaw between the two nations. At the G7 Summit in Alberta earlier this week, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the first time since the Nijjar controversy erupted. In a move that could ease months of tension, both leaders agreed to restore diplomatic communication, including the appointment of new high commissioners and the resumption of trade negotiations.

Prime Minister Carney, facing pressure from Sikh advocacy groups and opposition MPs for inviting Modi to the G7, defended the decision by stressing India’s economic weight and strategic significance. “Dialogue is essential,” Carney said. “Canada must engage constructively with major global players, even amid difficult conversations.”

While it remains to be seen whether the latest CSIS report will alter the trajectory of bilateral relations, its clear language is likely to reverberate across diplomatic, intelligence, and diaspora circles. For India, it may be seen as long-overdue validation of its warnings. For Canada, it is a sobering reckoning with the consequences of domestic extremism spilling across borders.