‘Targeting India': Canada confirms Khalistani extremists operating from its soil
Canada's top intelligence agency has officially acknowledged that a 'small group' of Canada-based Khalistani extremists (CBKEs) continue to pose a threat to national security by using Canadian soil to promote, fund or plan acts of violence, primarily targeting India.
'Only a small group of individuals are considered Khalistani extremists because they continue to use Canada as a base for the promotion, fundraising or planning of violence primarily in India,' the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) said in its latest annual report to parliament.
CSIS claimed that such activity falls under politically motivated violent extremism (PMVE), which it defines as the use of violence to bring about new political systems or changes to existing ones.
'Politically motivated violent extremism (PMVE) encourages the use of violence to establish new political systems or new structures or norms within existing systems. PMVE actors engage in the planning, financing and facilitating of attacks, globally, in order to establish new political systems or entities,' CSIS wrote.
According to CSIS, since the mid-1980s, PMVE in Canada has been most visible in the form of CBKEs 'seeking to use and support violent means to create an independent nation state called Khalistan, largely within Punjab, India.'
While no CBKE-linked attacks were recorded on Canadian soil in 2024, CSIS warned that the threat remains active.
'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,' CSIS said.
CSIS also highlighted its role in monitoring emerging threats and supporting the Government of Canada's terrorist listing process. The report added that in October 2024, Samidoun, also known as the Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, was designated a terrorist entity under the Criminal Code.
'In December 2024, the Government of Canada also listed Ansarallah (Houthis), a Yemen-based group, as a terrorist entity. Ansarallah attacked dozens of maritime vessels in the Red Sea in the past year and is closely linked to the IRGC-Qods Force and Hezbollah, two other listed terrorist entities in Canada,' CSIS added.
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