New Delhi:

Amid regional tensions and global conflicts in 2024, India navigated the complex diplomatic waters to solidify itself as a global leader which can’t be overlooked. However, its ties with Canada remained complicated– and may continue to do so–for at least another ten months till Prime Minister Justin Trudeau continues to lead the North American nation.

The India-Canada relations have been on a downward trajectory for several years, but they hit rock bottom in October 2024, with tit-for-tat expulsions of top diplomats following Prime Minister Trudeau’s claim that Canadian police were investigating allegations of Indian agents’ – and the Indian government’s – direct involvement in the June 2023 killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

Following this, Indian envoy to Canada Sanjay Kumar Verma – now withdrawn by New Delhi — accused Mr Trudeau of wrecking bilateral ties with India and stressed that Ottawa’s allegations were politically motivated. Ottawa has accused Mr Verma of having links to Nijjar’s murder in June 2023.

Speaking exclusively to NDTV upon his return to New Delhi, he said that it was in fact India which had shared detailed evidence of radical and extremist groups operating on Canadian soil with the Justin Trudeau government, but “no action was taken on it” by either the government or the authorities.

India has consistently rejected any link to the killing of Nijjar, a designated terrorist by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), and accused Trudeau’s administration of pandering to Khalistani sympathisers for political gain.

In May, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said that by allowing political space to Khalistani separatist elements, the Canadian government is sending a message that its vote bank is “more powerful” than its rule of law. He stressed India respects and practices freedom of speech, but that does not equate with the freedom to threaten foreign diplomats, extend support to separatism or allow political space to elements advocating violence.

“If you have people whose presence there is itself on very dubious documents, what does it say about you? It actually says that your vote bank is more powerful than your rule of law,” the minister said.

ALSO READ: Canada Showing Its Vote Bank Is More Powerful Than Its Rule Of Law: S Jaishankar

India-Canada Relations Collapse: A Timeline

In June 2023, Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot dead by two masked assailants as he left a Gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia. Canadian authorities, including Prime Minister Trudeau, accused agents linked to the Indian government of carrying out the assassination.

New Delhi called the allegations “absurd” and “preposterous.” India said Ottawa “has not shared a shred of evidence” with the government “despite many requests” from New Delhi.

But the unusual manner in which Canada made public its understanding that Indian officials were somehow involved in his murder derailed bilateral relations and set off a diplomatic firestorm that continues to rage.

ALSO READ: How Far Can Justin Trudeau Go As Personal Electoral Gain Trumps Diplomatic Ties

Canada first expelled an Indian diplomat in 2023. In response, India also sent back a Canadian diplomat and halted consular services for Canadians for nearly two months. The row escalated in May after Canadian police said they had arrested three Indian citizens in connection with Nijjar’s killing and were “investigating if there are any ties to the government of India.”

In October, Ottawa said India’s top diplomat in the country Sanjay Kumar Verma was a “person of interest” in the case. The Trudeau government tied five other expelled Indian officials to Nijjar’s murder and claimed Ottawa has “ample, clear and concrete evidence which identified six individuals as persons of interest in the Nijjar case.”

In response, India slammed Canada’s accusations, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs calling the accusations part of “a deliberate strategy of smearing India for political gains.” India also expelled Canada’s acting high commissioner and five other diplomats.

ALSO READ: Amid India-Canada Diplomatic Rift, Justin Trudeau’s “Khalistani” Backpedal

The rift between the two countries intensified in November after attendees of an Indian consular event at a Hindu temple in Toronto were attacked by pro-Khalistani supporters. New Delhi called out Ottawa for failing to protect Indian citizens and institutions.

Amid the standoff, Mr Trudeau, for the first time, admitted to the presence of Khalistanis in his country. In an unexpected statement during a Diwali celebrations event at Ottawa’s Parliament Hill, he acknowledged the presence of a Khalistan support base within Canada but quickly added that they do not represent the Sikh community as a whole.

“There are many supporters of ‘Khalistan’ in Canada, but they do not represent the Sikh Community as a whole. There are supporters of the Modi government in Canada, but they do not represent all Hindu Canadians as a whole,” he said.

ALSO READ: Trudeau Calls His Officials “Criminals”, Media “Wrong” Over Leaks, Fake Report On Indian Leadership

Later in November, he also called his intelligence officials “criminals” for linking Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar to violence on Canadian soil. His statement came after Globe and Mail newspaper published a report, alleging that Canadian security agencies believed PM Modi knew about the violent plots and said Mr Jaishankar and National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval were also in the loop.

New Delhi:

The Centre has informed the Parliament that Canada has presented “no evidence whatsoever in support of the serious allegations” claiming that Indian citizens were involved in crimes committed in the country.

Congress MP Manish Tewari today asked the government in the Lok Sabha, whether it has taken note of the development in the US and Canada over alleged criminal activity involving Indians, to which Minister of State in the External Affairs Ministry, Kirti Vardhan Singh said, “Government is aware of the allegations about the involvement of Indian nationals in purported acts or intent in the US and Canada.”

“As part of ongoing security cooperation with the United States, certain inputs shared by the US side pertaining to the nexus between organized criminals, gun runners, terrorists and others that impinge on India’s national security interests as well are being examined by a High-Level Enquiry Committee that has been constituted for this purpose,” he added.

“In so far as Canada is concerned, it has presented no evidence whatsoever in support of the serious allegations it has chosen to level,” the minister informed the Parliament.

Mr Tiwari further asked the Centre, about the impact of these allegations on our bilateral relations with the US and Canada; whether the government engaged with the countries diplomatically and the measures taken by the Centre to ensure the safety and security of Indian citizens in the countries in case of “of any potential fallout of these matters”.

Mr Singh in his response said, “In addition, its public narrative on this issue appears to be in service of an anti-India separatist agenda. Persisting with such a narrative can only be harmful for any stable bilateral relationship. Government have therefore repeatedly urged the Canadian authorities to take action against anti-India elements operating from their soil.”

“The welfare, safety and security of Indian nationals who are living, working and studying in the US and Canada remains of utmost importance to the Government of India. Issues faced by Indian nationals in the US and Canada are brought to the attention of relevant authorities, whenever they arise, for swift redressal,” he added.

India’s relations with Canada deteriorated after Justin Trudeau made allegations that Indian agents could be involved in Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s killing, leading to strong resistance from New Delhi and the expelling of diplomats from both sides.

Meanwhile, the US alleged that Vikash Yadav, also known as Vikas Yadav, a former Indian intelligence officer once associated with the Research and Analysis Wing, or R&AW – was the shadowy central figure in a failed plot to kill Gurpatwant Pannun, a Khalistani terrorist and founder of the banned Sikhs For Justice.

The purported plot involved another Indian, Nikhil Gupta, who was extradited from Czechia to the US in June.
 

New Delhi:

Indian students in Canada “should be aware of their surrounding” and resist radicalisation attempts by Khalistani terrorists and extremists, Sanjay Kumar Verma, India’s recalled High Commissioner told NDTV Thursday evening. Mr Verma urged the parents of students in Canada to “please talk to them regularly and try to understand” their situation, and to guide them away from unwise choices.

“At this time in Canada there is a threat from Khalistani terrorists and extremists to the larger Indian community… including students (of whom there were around 319,000 as of 2023),” he said.

“How this (Khalistani terrorists’ outreach to Indian students in Canada) works is… given the condition of that economy there are few jobs… so students are offered money and food, and this is how Khalistani terrorists and extremists influence them with nefarious plans” Mr Verma explained to NDTV.

Some students, he said, are also persuaded to take photographs or videos of themselves ‘protesting’ – shouting anti-India slogans or insulting the flag – outside Indian diplomatic buildings in Canada.

“Then they are told to go seek asylum… because their version will be, ‘If I go back to India now, I will be punished…’ and there have been cases of such students being given asylum,” he said.

There are, therefore, various kinds of negative influences acting on Indian students in Canada that are pushing them towards the wrong direction, Mr Verma told NDTV, as he appealed to parents.

Mr Verma’s comments come as the India-Canada diplomatic relationship spirals downward over repeated and unsubstantiated claims by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau – that “agents” of Delhi conspire with criminal gangs, including the Lawrence Bishnoi outfit, to “target (the) South Asians” in that country.

READ | “Bishnoi Gang Linked To Indian Govt Agents”: Canada Cops’ Claim

The row broke in September last year after Mr Trudeau claimed “credible allegations” the Indian government was involved in the killing of Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen.

Nijjar, branded a terrorist by the Indian government, was shot dead in Vancouver in June 2023.

India has emphatically junked links to his death, rubbishing them as “absurd” and “malicious” and pointing out, repeatedly, that neither Mr Trudeau nor his government have shared any hard evidence.

READ | “Preposterous Imputations”: Trudeau’s Escalation, India’s Strong Rebuttal

Last week India pointed to Mr Trudeau’s confession – before an inquiry commission in Ottawa – that he had no “hard evidentiary proof” when linking the Indian government to the Nijjar murder.

READ | “As We Said, No Evidence Whatsoever”: India On Trudeau’s Deposition

Mr Verma underlined that point to NDTV today, saying “not a shred of evidence” had been shared with him since his appointment as High Commissioner in Canada in September 2022. In fact, Mr Verma said it was India that had shared evidence of extremist groups in Canada, but “no action was taken…”

READ | “We Told Canada About Bishnoi-Brar Links”: Recalled Envoy To NDTV

The crisis that began last year exploded further this month after Canadian federal police linked the Bishnoi gang and identified Mr Verma – India’s senior-most serving diplomat – as a ‘person of interest’ in cases of “homicide, extortion, intimidation, and coercion”. Canada declared it would expel Mr Verma.

READ | Nijjar Killing, Bishnoi Gang, Trade Talks: How India-Canada Ties Soured

New Delhi, furious at Canada’s treatment of Mr Verma, instead recalled him and five of his staff, and retaliated by ejecting Canada’s acting High Commissioner, Stewart Wheeler, and his staff members.

Mr Verma was also made ‘persona non grata‘ – a diplomatic term meaning a ‘person who is no longer welcome’. He becomes the first Indian diplomat to have ever been treated as such.

NDTV is now available on WhatsApp channels. Click on the link to get all the latest updates from NDTV on your chat.

New Delhi:

Indian students in Canada “should be aware of their surrounding” and resist radicalisation attempts by Khalistani terrorists and extremists, Sanjay Kumar Verma, India’s recalled High Commissioner told NDTV Thursday evening. Mr Verma urged the parents of students in Canada to “please talk to them regularly and try to understand” their situation, and to guide them away from unwise choices.

“At this time in Canada there is a threat from Khalistani terrorists and extremists to the larger Indian community… including students (of whom there were around 319,000 as of 2023),” he said.

“How this (Khalistani terrorists’ outreach to Indian students in Canada) works is… given the condition of that economy there are few jobs… so students are offered money and food, and this is how Khalistani terrorists and extremists influence them with nefarious plans” Mr Verma explained to NDTV.

Some students, he said, are also persuaded to take photographs or videos of themselves ‘protesting’ – shouting anti-India slogans or insulting the flag – outside Indian diplomatic buildings in Canada.

“Then they are told to go seek asylum… because their version will be, ‘If I go back to India now, I will be punished…’ and there have been cases of such students being given asylum,” he said.

There are, therefore, various kinds of negative influences acting on Indian students in Canada that are pushing them towards the wrong direction, Mr Verma told NDTV, as he appealed to parents.

Mr Verma’s comments come as the India-Canada diplomatic relationship spirals downward over repeated and unsubstantiated claims by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau – that “agents” of Delhi conspire with criminal gangs, including the Lawrence Bishnoi outfit, to “target (the) South Asians” in that country.

READ | “Bishnoi Gang Linked To Indian Govt Agents”: Canada Cops’ Claim

The row broke in September last year after Mr Trudeau claimed “credible allegations” the Indian government was involved in the killing of Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen.

Nijjar, branded a terrorist by the Indian government, was shot dead in Vancouver in June 2023.

India has emphatically junked links to his death, rubbishing them as “absurd” and “malicious” and pointing out, repeatedly, that neither Mr Trudeau nor his government have shared any hard evidence.

READ | “Preposterous Imputations”: Trudeau’s Escalation, India’s Strong Rebuttal

Last week India pointed to Mr Trudeau’s confession – before an inquiry commission in Ottawa – that he had no “hard evidentiary proof” when linking the Indian government to the Nijjar murder.

READ | “As We Said, No Evidence Whatsoever”: India On Trudeau’s Deposition

Mr Verma underlined that point to NDTV today, saying “not a shred of evidence” had been shared with him since his appointment as High Commissioner in Canada in September 2022. In fact, Mr Verma said it was India that had shared evidence of extremist groups in Canada, but “no action was taken…”

READ | “We Told Canada About Bishnoi-Brar Links”: Recalled Envoy To NDTV

The crisis that began last year exploded further this month after Canadian federal police linked the Bishnoi gang and identified Mr Verma – India’s senior-most serving diplomat – as a ‘person of interest’ in cases of “homicide, extortion, intimidation, and coercion”. Canada declared it would expel Mr Verma.

READ | Nijjar Killing, Bishnoi Gang, Trade Talks: How India-Canada Ties Soured

New Delhi, furious at Canada’s treatment of Mr Verma, instead recalled him and five of his staff, and retaliated by ejecting Canada’s acting High Commissioner, Stewart Wheeler, and his staff members.

Mr Verma was also made ‘persona non grata‘ – a diplomatic term meaning a ‘person who is no longer welcome’. He becomes the first Indian diplomat to have ever been treated as such.

NDTV is now available on WhatsApp channels. Click on the link to get all the latest updates from NDTV on your chat.

New Delhi:

Two senior aides of Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, one of whom is his national security advisor, Nathalie Drouin, shared confidential information about India – and claimed Delhi ‘interference’ in Ottawa’s affairs – to a United States newspaper, a Canadian publication reported Tuesday.

The information was provided days before Canadian federal police alleged – as Mr Trudeau has in the past, but without concrete evidence – that “agents” of the Indian government work with criminal gangs to “target South Asians… specifically pro-Khalistani elements” in that country.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police Commissioner Mike Duhene and his deputy, Brigitte Gauvin, told reporters they believed Indian government “agents” had ties with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, and were involved in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen, in June last year, as well as case of “extortion, intimidation, and coercion”.

India had strongly rejected what it called “preposterous imputations” and underlined that since allegations were first made – by Mr Trudeau in September last year – the Canadian government “has not shared a shred of evidence with the Government of India, despite many requests…”

READ | “As We Said, No Evidence…”: India On Justin Trudeau’s Deposition

That sentiment was underlined last week after Mr Trudeau told a Commission of Inquiry he had only intel-based speculation and no “proof” when he linked “agents” of Delhi to Nijjar’s killing.

Canada Officials, US Paper Met?

Canada newspaper The Globe and Mail said its sources had spoken of Ms Drouin and David Morrison, the Deputy Minister of Global Affairs, briefing the Washington Post on various aspects of India’s ‘interference’, including involvement in the September 2023 killing of another Sikh leader, Sukhdool Gill, a gangster from Punjab’s Moga linked to the Khalistani terror movement.

Gill was killed two days after Mr Trudeau first accused India in the Nijjar killing.

Spokespersons for Ms Drouin and Mr Morrison have claimed no information was shared, but spoke of an unsealed United States indictment from November 2023. According to The Globe and Mail, this, however, did not name Gill or the other Canadian targeted for assassination.

The Post, sources told the Canadian publication, was instructed not to report anything till Mr Duheme and Ms Gauvin held that press conference. The Post eventually did so citing ‘Canadian officials’ who claimed to have linked Gill’s murder to India, although the federal police did not.

In their presser Mr Duheme and Ms Gauvin claimed to have evidence – none was presented citing ongoing investigation – that some Indian diplomatic staff work with organised crime elements to “collect – through questionable and illegal means – information on Canadian citizens… (that is fed to criminal organisations) that would then take violent actions…”

#WATCH | Ottawa, Ontario (Canada): “It (India) is targeting South Asian community but they are specifically targeting pro-Khalistani elements in Canada…What we have seen is, from an RCMP perspective, they use organised crime elements. It has been publically attributed and… pic.twitter.com/KYKQVSx7Ju

— ANI (@ANI) October 14, 2024

Hours after the police officers’ press conference Mr Trudeau spoke to reporters and doubled down on charges against the Indian government.

READ | Trudeau Doubles Down On Charges Amid India-Canada Diplomatic Row

“I think it is obvious the Government of India made a fundamental error in thinking they could engage in supporting criminal activity against Canadians, here on Canadian soil…” he declared.

India, Canada Expel Diplomats

His government also named High Commissioner Sanjay Verma as one of the six ‘persons of interest’ in this affair, triggering further fury from Delhi, which retaliated by ejecting Canada’s High Commissioner and five of his staff. On the expulsions (the second tit-for-tat round), Delhi said, “Sanjay Verma is India’s senior-most serving diplomat”, and slammed a “strategy of smearing India for political gains”.

Canadian authorities investigating Nijjar’s killing have arrested four people so far, and Mr Duheme said last week that 30 others, including those with alleged links to the Indian government. were charged.

Trudeau’s Political Future

Mr Trudeau’s allegations coincide with sliding support and tanking popularity; this month he survived a second parliamentary confidence vote in as many weeks before the 2025 election.

Ties between Ottawa and Delhi have plummeted since Mr Trudeau’s allegations broke, with his critics in India accusing him of pandering to Khalistani terrorist vote banks in that country.

In May, Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar said that Justin Trudeau, by allowing political space to Khalistani separatist elements, had indicated the terrorists’ votes were more important than the rule of law.

Mr Jaishankar underlined his assessment this week at the NDTV World Summit and criticised the Canadian government for “double standards”, referring to apparent differences between how Ottawa treats other nations’ diplomats on its soil and the “license’ it allows its representatives in India.

US’ Position

The US has been discreet since the row erupted in September last year and has only emphasised the need for cooperation between the two countries, an appeal it made again last week.

READ | NDTV Explains: US Charge Over Plot To Kill Terrorist, India’s Reaction

The United States – which is conducting an inquiry about an ex-Indian spy linked to a murder-for-hire attempt targeting Gurpatwant Pannun, whom India considers a Khalistani terrorist – called for Delhi and Ottawa to work together, and said that charges need to be viewed “very seriously”.

READ | On Nijjar Killing, US Says “Wanted To See India, Canada Cooperate But…”

Nijjar – the mastermind behind banned terror outfit Khalistan Tiger Force – was on Delhi’s list of ‘most wanted’ terrorists for multiple crimes, including the murder of Hindu priest in Punjab. Anti-terror agency NIA had offered a Rs 10 lakh reward for information leading to his capture.

NDTV is now available on WhatsApp channels. Click on the link to get all the latest updates from NDTV on your chat.

On a blustery, cold January day in 2011 in Lahore, a CIA contractor and former US Special Forces operative was driving through a busy street when two motorcyclists who allegedly attempted to rob him—or that is what he claimed—were shot and killed by him. In the ensuing chaos, he hit another car, got caught and was promptly charged with murder. You might think this was a minor incident, but Washington didn’t.

Davis was hardly a big fish in the CIA pond, yet the Obama administration threw a diplomatic tantrum generally typical of a superpower. Diplomatic relations and the $2 billion in annual aid to Pakistan were frozen. The US falsely claimed Davis was a diplomat, deserving immunity. Pakistan’s investigation showed he was a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operative and therefore wasn’t covered by diplomatic immunity. Initially, it refused to back down despite the political heat.

In the end, after a 50-day standoff, Davis was whisked back to the US, but not before $2.34 million of blood money exchanged hands, reportedly compensating the victims’ families. He later wrote about this cloak-and-dagger saga in his 2016 book The Contractor: How I Landed in Pakistan’s Deadliest Jail and Then Escaped, revealing how the CIA operates when things get messy.

CIA’s Long Arms

The Raymond Davis affair revealed how deeply the CIA was operating in Pakistan’s backyard, raising public anger about America’s covert meddling in a country it called an “ally” in the war on terror. The Pakistanis felt betrayed by their trusted ally.

This brings us to the present: the CIA, the agency behind countless covert operations all around the world, lectures India on cooperating with Canada over Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s assassination. It’s as if the US forgot it’s been running around the world in the shadows since the CIA’s inception in 1947, toppling governments, orchestrating coups, and assassinating foreign leaders—all in the name of national interest. But let’s not dwell on the hypocrisy or “double standards”, as India’s foreign minister S. Jaishankar put it in a recent interview with NDTV. He didn’t hold back in calling out Canada’s double standards and pointed out how it is quick to gather intel through its diplomats on foreign soil but becomes very protective when it comes to limiting similar activities by diplomats from other nations on its own turf.

Indeed, while Canada plays the victim, it conveniently turns a blind eye to the unchecked privileges its own diplomats enjoy in India. Jaishankar, ever direct, put it plainly: “Double standards is a very mild word for it.” His pointed remark wasn’t just a dig at Canada’s hypocrisy but also an indictment of the wider Western duplicity.

Take the recent case of the US charging former Indian intelligence agent Vikas Yadav with being involved in a plot to assassinate Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in New York. Now, imagine if the tables were turned. Would the US sit quietly? Absolutely not. By now, Washington would have launched a full-scale diplomatic offensive to bring its man home, just like it did in the above-mentioned case of Davis. And if this led to a potential diplomatic row, so be it. The hypocrisy is so obvious.

West’s Unquestioned Hypocrisy

In the murky realm of espionage, agencies like the CIA, Mossad and MI6 have always played by their own rules, causing diplomatic rifts, regime changes and the occasional assassinations. But when the tables turn, if at all, well, it’s all about the rule of law and international cooperation. I do not suggest the Indian spy agency RAW is doing what the likes of CIA, Mossad and MI6 have been doing for decades without being questioned by anyone. The US, for instance, never lectured Israel for Mossad’s countless extraterritorial activities overseas. India is cooperating with the US in the Vikas Yadav case. It wants to cooperate with Canada in its investigation of Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s murder upon receipt of credible evidence.

Jaishankar’s view isn’t just an Indian perspective—countries across the Global South, and even some in the West, are getting increasingly fed up with the blatant foreign policy double standards.

‘Ajax’ To ‘Condor’, CIA’s Myriad Assassination Plots

The US government’s own report on assassination plots involving foreign leaders reveals some shocking truths about the CIA’s covert operations overseas. The report Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders wasn’t fully declassified and released until July 23, 2002. The report, also known as the Church Committee report, investigated alleged CIA assassination plots against foreign leaders, including Cuba’s Fidel Castro and Congo’s Patrice Lumumba. The report also mentions other foreign leaders who were targeted for assassination, although their names were not disclosed.

Despite the White House’s efforts to bury the report, the Church Committee conducted a thorough investigation into the CIA’s assassination plots. It confirmed the CIA’s involvement in these plots and recommended legislation to prohibit assassinations. The reports also raised important questions about the ethics and legality of targeted killings, which remain relevant today. And yet, the CIA often disregards its rule books and ethical standards.

Some of its notable plots were 

• Operation Ajax (1953): Successfully overthrew Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh, consolidating Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi’s power. This was a joint operation between the CIA and Britain’s MI6. 
• Bay of Pigs Invasion (1961): Failed to overthrow Cuban leader Fidel Castro, resulting in embarrassment to the US and loss of life.
• Operation Condor (1970s-1980s): Supported Latin American dictatorships in eliminating leftist opposition, leading to human rights abuses.

In more recent times, the CIA’s extraterritorial actions in the Middle East, especially during the ‘War on Terror’, have had long-term destabilising effects. US drone strikes, covert actions in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia and operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have sometimes led to increased radicalisation. While these operations are aimed at counterterrorism, the resulting instability often fuels new cycles of violence and anti-American sentiment.

Mossad’s Misdemeanours

Many experts in the West are bracing for a fiery Israeli strike on Iran in response to Tehran’s October 1 missile attack. But here’s the catch—it may not come from the skies at all. Instead of sending jets and missiles, Israel could very well stick to its trusted playbook: cyberattacks or political assassinations. After all, these methods have proven highly effective in the past, often executed with the help of local assets within Iran. So, while everyone waits for a military show of force, Israel might be quietly sharpening its digital knives or preparing for another covert strike that leaves no fingerprints but sends a very loud message.

It is widely believed, and not disputed by Israel, that Mossad has been actively involved in covert operations inside Iran for years, particularly targeting Iran’s nuclear programme. One might recall the cyberattack using the Stuxnet virus, which disrupted uranium enrichment in 2010. In 2018, Mossad is believed to have stolen 55,000 pages of documents and 183 CDs from Iran’s nuclear archives, revealing the country’s nuclear programme details.

However, Mossad’s most high-profile and controversial actions have been the assassinations of Iranian nuclear scientists. These operations are believed to be part of a broader Israeli strategy to delay or dismantle Iran’s nuclear capabilities, which Israel sees as an existential threat. Between 2010 and 2012, at least five Iranian nuclear scientists were assassinated in Tehran in a series of precision attacks that many attributed to Mossad. Israel has not commented on them. The most notable method involved motorcyclists attaching magnetic bombs to the victims’ cars during busy commutes. The victims included Majid Shahriari, a key figure in Iran’s nuclear research, and Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, a prominent scientist at Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility. These killings sent shockwaves through Iran’s scientific community, severely damaging its nuclear programme and provoking outrage from Tehran, which accused Israel and the West of orchestrating the murders.

The Strikes On Iran’s Nuclear Ambitions

The most striking assassination occurred in 2020 when Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, considered the father of Iran’s nuclear weapons programme, was killed in a highly sophisticated operation. Reports suggested the use of a satellite-controlled machine gun to eliminate Fakhrizadeh near Tehran. This assassination was a major blow to Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Mossad’s operations inside Iran demonstrate the agency’s deep penetration into the country and its relentless efforts to undermine Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

Iranian secret agents have also been active against Israel, with the Israeli government successfully foiling Iranian plots to assassinate Israelis in Israel, Cyprus and elsewhere.

MI6 And Its Legacy Spy Network

The United Kingdom, as the original colonial power, practically wrote the book on covert operations. MI6, founded in 1909 as the Empire’s main Secret Intelligence Service, was tasked with protecting British interests worldwide—sometimes by any means necessary. One of its most infamous escapades was its role in the 1953 coup against Iran’s Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh, a man who dared to nationalise Iran’s oil, threatening Britain’s golden pipeline. As mentioned above, the MI6 teamed up with the CIA for Operation Ajax, toppling Mossadegh and reinstalling the Shah, whose authoritarian reign would last until the 1979 revolution.

In more recent times, especially during the early 2000s, MI6 found itself embroiled in another scandal, this time involving Libya. Partnering again with the CIA, MI6 was accused of helping to render Libyan dissidents back to Gaddafi’s regime, where they were tortured. The most prominent case was that of Abdel Hakim Belhaj, an opposition leader kidnapped and sent to Libya allegedly with MI6’s help. After years of legal battles, Belhaj won an apology from Prime Minister Theresa May in 2018.

India’s RAW Power

India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) was established in 1968 as the nation’s primary external intelligence agency. While RAW has gained significant prominence within the global intelligence community, its capabilities still trail behind those of the CIA, Mossad, and MI6. With a reported budget of around $700 million, RAW operates on a fraction of the resources available to the CIA, whose budget hovers between $18-20 billion. Its main mandate is national security, with a sharp focus on counterterrorism—disrupting terror outfits, cutting off funding to extremists, and monitoring state enemies abroad. 

Contrary to popular belief, RAW does not operate with unchecked power. Its operations are governed by strict directives from the Indian government and, at least on paper, must adhere to Indian laws. While RAW plays a crucial role in safeguarding the nation, it is by no means a rogue agency; it works within the limits of its mandate, with each mission requiring government approval.

From the CIA’s colossal resources and Mossad’s precision strikes to MI6’s legacy of colonial espionage and RAW’s rising influence, these agencies navigate the murky waters of international politics and diplomacy. Yet, they remain indispensable tools of statecraft in an increasingly complex world.

(Syed Zubair Ahmed is a London-based senior Indian journalist with three decades of experience with the Western media)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author

New Delhi:

The Indian government is “not aware” of any specific threat against Air India and its passengers, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said Monday evening at the NDTV World Summit.

Mr Jaishankar’s remark came hours after Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun – whom the United States believes was the subject of a murder-for-hire plot involving ex-Indian spy Vikas Yadav – released a video statement online warning people not to fly Air India between November 1 and 19.

The threat follows a worrying flood of bomb threats against Indian passenger jets, including those operated by Air India and Air India Xpress; over 100 such threats have been made in the past week.

“I am not aware of any specific threat today… but we have seen threats, in the past, to our airlines, to our Parliament, to our diplomats and High Commissions, and our leaders,” Mr Jaishankar said.

“And all that is a source of concern…” he said.

Jaishankar Jabs Canada

Mr Jaishankar may have sidestepped the question on the threat, but took the opportunity to take more sharp digs at the Canadian government amid a tense diplomatic stand-off over the killing of another Khalistani terrorist – Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen – in Vancouver in June last year.

READ | Nijjar Killing, Bishnoi Gang, Trade Talks: How India-Canada Relations Soured

“These threats are cleverly worded… they (the Canadian government) calls this ‘freedom of speech’. But my question to them is – if you receive these threats would you take them lightly?”

“If it was your airline being threatened, your Parliament, your diplomats… this is exactly the kind of problem with which we started this conversation,” Mr Jaishankar told NDTV.

Earlier in the interview with NDTV’s Sanjay Pugalia, he also spoke of ‘double standards’ in the way Canada treats Indian diplomats and the ‘license’ their officials allowed themselves while in India.

READ | “Difficult To Imagine Current State…”: S Jaishankar On Canada Ties

The Indian government has been fiercely critical of its Canadian counterpart giving space – physical and political – to individuals it considers terrorists with designs against India’s sovereignty.

READ | “Political Agenda Of Trudeau Govt”: India Slams Canada On Nijjar Killing

Last week – after Canadian federal police claimed top Indian diplomats in that country were working with organised criminal gangs, such as the Lawrence Bishnoi outfit – Delhi pointed out Ottawa had “consciously provided space to violent extremists and terrorists to harass, threaten and intimidate Indian diplomats”. This, Delhi complained, had been “justified in the name of freedom of speech”.

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New Delhi:

A day after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke of ‘One India’ policy, India on Thursday said “no action” taken against anti-India elements there suggests there is a “gap” between action and words.

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal also told reporters that over the last several years, New Delhi has been reminding Ottawa to take actions against anti-India activities in that country.

He was responding to a query on the comments made by Trudeau while he was testifying before the public inquiry into foreign interference in federal electoral processes and democratic institutions.

“We have seen those comments of Prime Minister Trudeau that he believes in the ‘One India’ policy, but so far the actions that we have requested against anti-India elements who actually go against ‘One India’, who call for dismemberment and disunity of the country, who espouse separatist ideology…no action has been taken,” Mr Jaiswal said.

“In a sense, there is a difference, there is a gap between action and words here,” he added.

As the Canadian Prime Minister testified before the Commission of Inquiry, the MEA early on Thursday said what it has heard only “confirms” New Delhi’s consistent stand that Canada has “presented us no evidence” in support of the serious allegations Ottawa chose to level against India and Indian diplomats.

Trudeau on Wednesday acknowledged that he had only intelligence and no “hard evidentiary proof” when he alleged the involvement of Indian government agents in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar last year.

The MEA issued a statement in the early hours on Thursday in response to media queries related to Trudeau’s deposition, some of whose details came out in media reports.

“What we have heard today only confirms what we have been saying consistently all along — Canada has presented us no evidence whatsoever in support of the serious allegations that it has chosen to level against India and Indian diplomats,” the MEA spokesperson said in the statement.

The ministry further said, “The responsibility for the damage that this cavalier behaviour has caused to India-Canada relations lies with Prime Minister Trudeau alone.” During the press briefing on Thursday evening, Mr Jaiswal was also asked about the future direction of India-Canada ties.

“This is an evolving situation, so we will see,” he said.

The escalation in diplomatic row between India and Canada is a major downturn in already frosty ties between the two nations.

The relations between the two countries came under severe strain following Trudeau’s allegations in September last year of a “potential” involvement of Indian agents in Nijjar’s killing. New Delhi rejected Trudeau’s charges as “absurd”.

India has been maintaining that the main issue between the two countries is that of Canada giving space to pro-Khalistan elements operating from Canadian soil with impunity.

Nijjar, who was declared a terrorist by India, was shot dead outside a gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18 last year.

On a query on the safety of Indian or Indian-origin nationals in Canada, Mr Jaiswal said that about 17-18 lakh Indian origin, and Indian citizens also, live in Canada, and “their safety is important”.

It is in hands of the Canadian government and “we hope they will keep them safe”, he added.

Asked about the visa situation, he said, the “visa situation not very good”.

Asked about the reports of alleged intimidation of some Indian-origin journalists in Canada, the MEA spokesperson said, “These are clear examples of intimidation and violence by those who openly espouse extremist and separatist ideologies.” “These are also examples of what afflicts Canada today and which reveal the sources of violence. Shifting the blame to India doesn’t work, in any manner,” he said.

On a query about former Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, he said, “As we said earlier, she had come here at a short notice for safety reasons, and she continues to be here.” On a query related to a report on possible resumption of cricket ties between India and Pakistan, and if it was discussed on the sidelines of the SCO conclave in Islamabad, Mr Jaiswal said, “It was not discussed.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

The External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal slammed Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s claim on “extortion, homicide and violent acts by New Delhi”. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal slammed Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday (October 17, 2024) as “cavalier” over his handling of the disastrous diplomatic fallout following the 2023 killing of a Sikh separatist in Canada.

New Delhi held firm its defiant stance towards Ottawa — an approach in sharp contrast to its compliant attitude this week towards the United States, where India is also accused of directing a separate assassination plot.

Canada has alleged that India arranged the killing of a Sikh separatist, naturalised Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar, murdered in the parking lot of a Sikh temple in Vancouver in June 2023. India has called the allegations “preposterous”.

Mr. Jaiswal said on Thursday (October 17, 2024) that they had not seen that evidence.

“Canada has presented us (India) no evidence whatsoever in support of the serious allegations that it has chosen to level against India and Indian diplomats,” he said in a statement.

“The responsibility for the damage that this cavalier behaviour has caused to India-Canada relations lies with Prime Minister Trudeau alone.”

But Mr. Trudeau, at a parliamentary inquiry on Wednesday (October 16, 2024), said Canada had “clear… indications that India had violated Canada’s sovereignty”.

Canada’s top envoy to New Delhi, Stewart Wheeler, who India has ordered to leave by Saturday (October 19, 2024) night, has said Ottawa had provided “credible, irrefutable evidence of ties between agents of the Government of India and the murder of a Canadian citizen”.

Tit-for-tat

Nijjar — who immigrated to Canada in 1997 and became a citizen in 2015 — had advocated for a separate Sikh state, known as Khalistan, carved out of India.

He had been wanted by Indian authorities for alleged terrorism and conspiracy to commit murder. Four Indian nationals have been arrested in connection with Nijjar’s murder.

Last year, the Government briefly curbed visas for Canadians and this week both countries expelled each other’s ambassadors.

New Delhi’s response to Washington has been very different, with the U.S. State Department on Wednesday (October 16, 2024) saying India had told it that an intelligence operative accused of directing an assassination plot on U.S. soil was no longer in government service.

U.S. prosecutors charged an Indian citizen last November over a foiled attempt in New York to kill an advocate for a separate Sikh homeland.

The indictment described an “Indian government employee,” who was not publicly named, as recruiting the hitman and directing the assassination plot remotely, including by arranging the delivery of $15,000 in cash.

An Indian daily, quoting an unnamed U.S. official, said on Monday (October 14, 2024) that India not only removed but arrested the employee on “local charges.”

The State Department did not confirm the arrest.

New Delhi:

India-Canada diplomatic ties soured further this week after allegations by Canadian federal police that “agents” of Delhi are working with organised criminals – including the Bishnoi gang linked to last week’s murder of ex-Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique – to “target (the) South Asian community… specifically pro-Khalistani elements” in that country.

The allegations were preceded by each side ejecting six diplomats, including high-ranking envoys like Canada’s acting High Commissioner, Stewart Wheeler, and India’s High Commissioner, Sanjay Verma. Delhi later said it was pulling its staff over security concerns.

India issued a stern rebuttal to Canada’s claims about its ‘expelled’ staff being ‘persons of interest’ in cases of alleged extortion and murder, slamming the “preposterous imputations” and the “political agenda” of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government before an election.

That was followed by Mr Trudeau holding a press conference – after his police force’s claims – in which he backed the cops’ charges and criticised “a fundamental error” – that India thinks it can “engage in supporting criminal activity against Canadians, here on Canadian soil”.

READ | “Bishnoi Gang Linked To Indian Government Agents”: Canada Cops’ Claim

“Whether it be murders or extortion or other violent acts, it is absolutely unacceptable,” Mr Trudeau said, claiming also that his administration had “shared our concerns” with Delhi.

He said Canadian police had spoken to Indian government officials but been rebuffed.

The allegation – that “agents of the Indian government” are colluding with organised crime bosses to target Canadian citizens – is a sharp escalation in the diplomatic row between the two countries, a row that erupted in September last year, when Mr Trudeau accused the Indian government of involvement in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

India-Canada Diplomatic Row Background

The India-Canada row erupted in September last year after Justin Trudeau’s comment about “credible allegation” about “agents” of the Indian government being linked to the killing of Nijjar, a Canadian citizen, was shot dead outside a gurdwara in Vancouver three months earlier.

The “mastermind” of the Khalistani Tiger Force, a designated terror group, Nijjar was high on India’s ‘most wanted list’ for multiple crimes; in July, anti-terror agency NIA announced a cash reward of Rs 10 lakh for his capture for the murder of a Hindu priest in Punjab’s Jalandhar.

Responding to Canada’s claims India then, as it has since, issued a firm denial, calling the allegation “absurd” and motivated”, and pointing out that no evidence had been provided.

READ | Trudeau Doubles Down On Charges After India-Canada Diplomatic Row

The allegations drove already tense relations – in July 2023 India served Canada a demarche asking for action against Khalistani separatists threatening its diplomats, and, in March, there were security breaches at Indian consulates in the United States and Canada – further south.

The Indian government took a very dim view of the attacks and expressed strong concerns about continuing anti-India activities of extremist elements in Canada”. The External Affairs Ministry spoke about a “nexus” of criminal activity in that country should be a focus for both sides.

All of this followed an operation by police in India to track down and arrest Khalistani separatist and radical preacher Amritpal Singh, and over 100 members of his outfit, the ‘Waris Punjab De’.

Delhi also served a demarche in 2022, asking Ottawa to stop a ‘Khalistan referendum’ by Gurpatwant Pannun’s Sikhs For Justice, another separatist outfit branded as a terror group.

Trade Talks Paused, G20 Tension

Days before Canada’s unsubstantiated claim about “agents of the Indian government” trade talks with Delhi were paused. Canada’s Trade Minister, Mary Ng, then said the talks would remain paused while Mr Trudeau’s government investigates the “credible allegations”.

READ | On Paused Trade Talks, Canada Minister Says “Focus” On Nijjar Case

She did not confirm a direct link between Nijjar’s killing and the paused trade talks.

The two nations have been in talks over a trade deal since 2010.

The halting of trade talks came shortly before Mr Trudeau flew to India for the G20 summit, which led to a few awkward moments. These included the Canadian leader’s plane being grounded due to technical issues on the day of his scheduled departure – and the replacement then being diverted.

NDTV Explains | India-Canada Trade Talks Paused. What Happened?

Mr Trudeau’s India visit also included sharp comments from Prime Minister Narendra Modi about “anti-India” activities being permitted to take place on Canadian soil.

He leader later said his country would “always defend freedom of expression… of conscience… of peaceful protest” but also “always prevent violence and push back against hatred.”

Canada Parliament Honours Nijjar

In June, in a move that triggered a furious response from India, the Canadian Parliament observed a moment’s silence on the one-year anniversary of Nijjar’s death.

The Indian government responded with a stern statement, saying it would “naturally oppose any move giving political space to extremism and advocacy of violence”.

READ | “We Oppose…”: India On Canada Parliament Honouring Khalistani Terrorist

The Indian consulate in Vancouver hit back with a tribute to the 329 victims of the Air India Montreal-London flight bombed by Khalistani terrorists in 1985.

On that subject an Indian-origin Canada MP, Chandra Arya, said the ideology responsible for the terrorist attack is still alive among a few people in his country.

What Does The US Say?

The United States – which last month summoned the Indian government after Pannun filed a civil lawsuit, alleging a plot to murder him – has said it is “deeply concerned” by the claims and, in May this year, called on Delhi to take allegations against it “very seriously and investigate”.

The Indian government has set up a high-level committee to inquire into the charges.

With input from agencies

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