The Indian government is no longer looking after Canadians, a senior official said on the eve of the Prime Minister’s visit to the country
On the eve of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s visit to Mumbai and New Delhi, a senior official said the government believes India no longer wants to attack Canadians.
The official’s comments at the press conference were the first to suggest that India has stopped an undercover operation in Canada linked to killings and other violence.
“We have strong communication links, including with national security advisers, and I think we can say that we are sure that that project is not going forward or we would not be having these kinds of discussions,” he said.
Pressed by reporters to clarify this, the official refused to elaborate, but added, “I don’t think we would have taken this trip if we thought this type of activity would continue.”
The official spoke on the condition that they not be disclosed.
Canada’s national security agencies believe India launched a campaign in 2022 to kill activists in North America who support Khalistan, an independent state in Sikh-majority Punjab.
Among those allegedly targeted was Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was shot dead in June 2023 while leaving a temple in Surrey, BC, where he served as president.
RCMP believe the Indian government contacted gang leader Lawrence Bishnoi to plan the murder. An Indian intelligence officer has also been implicated in a plot to kill a Canadian in the US
As the RCMP investigation continued, Commissioner Mike Duheme announced that the Indian government was linked to a wider network of violence, often targeting pro-Khalistan activists.
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Canada then expelled six Indian diplomats. But since taking office, Carney has restored, and deepened, ties with India, seeking a trade deal to end a tax-ridden White House.
Since then, Lawrence Bishnoi’s gang, with whom India allegedly cooperated to target enemies in Canada, has been embroiled in a money-laundering scandal in South Asia’s most populous cities.
But at a briefing on Wednesday ahead of Carney’s arrival in India on February 27, a government official appeared to suggest that New Delhi’s targeting of Canadians has stopped.
The World Sikh Organization of Canada called the official’s comments “absolutely false” and said it was “out of step with what Sikh Canadians experience and what we see firsthand.”
Only last weekend, Vancouver police warned Canadian Sikh activist Moninder Singh of an imminent threat to him, his wife and their children. It is the fourth such warning since 2022.
“The WSO is aware of incidents over the past six months of surveillance, harassment and intimidation by agents of the Indian government,” the national Sikh group said in a statement.
“The Carney government has failed to hold India accountable or to make any reasonable safeguards to ensure that Sikh Canadians are protected from foreign interference and foreign oppression. Declaring that the problem has been solved does not make it so.”
Senior officials did not respond when asked when they believed India had stopped its campaign of repression and foreign interference in Canada.
“We are having mature and robust discussions with the Indian government on these issues. And we have strong safeguards in place to avoid foreign interference,” the official told reporters.
“I can’t give you an exact date on which people changed their minds. We have systematic communication with the Indian government, at the level of senior officials, at the level of ministers, at the level of leaders. And these issues are raised regularly. And we are confident that we have a basis for ongoing productive discussions.”
Stewart.Bell@globalnews.ca
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