India has dismissed claims made by a Canadian minister that Home Minister Amit Shah ordered the targeting of Khalistani extremists, labelling them "absurd and baseless." A representative from the Canadian High Commission was summoned on Thursday in response.
Canada's Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister, David Morrison, had informed the country's Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security that Shah had initiated a campaign involving violence, intimidation, and intelligence gathering against Khalistani extremists.
In a statement on Friday, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal confirmed that a diplomatic note was delivered to the Canadian representative. “The note conveyed the Indian government’s strong protest against the unfounded references made to the Union Home Minister by Deputy Minister David Morrison,” Jaiswal stated.
“Such irresponsible actions will have serious consequences for bilateral ties,” the MEA spokesperson added.
The senior official on Tuesday had acknowledged sharing sensitive intelligence with U.S. media, alleging that Union Home Minister Amit Shah ordered a campaign targeting Sikh separatists in Canada.
Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister David Morrison confirmed Shah's involvement to The Washington Post but did not disclose how this information was obtained. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau previously stated that Canada possessed "credible evidence linking" Indian agents to the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, which Indian officials have repeatedly denied.
MEA spokesperson said this revelation that high Canadian government officials deliberately leaked unfounded insinuations to international media as part of a conscious strategy to discredit India and influence other nations only confirms the view that the Indian government has long held about the current Canadian government's political agenda and behavioural pattern.
On October 14, Canada expelled the Indian high commissioner and five other diplomats, claiming their involvement in coercion and violence against the Khalistani movement. Canada is not alone in these allegations; the U.S. Justice Department has also charged an Indian government employee in connection with a foiled plot to kill a Sikh separatist leader in New York City.
Nathalie Drouin, Trudeau's national security adviser, told the committee Tuesday that Canada has evidence the Indian government first gathered information on Indian nationals and Canadian citizens in Canada through diplomatic channels and proxies.
She said the information was then passed to the government in New Delhi, which allegedly works with a criminal network affiliated with gangster Lawrence Bishnoi.
Bishnoi is currently in prison in India, but Drouin said his vast criminal network has been linked to homicides, assassination plots, coercion and other violent crimes in Canada.
Before the Royal Canadian Mounted Police went public with allegations that Indian diplomats were persons of interest in criminal investigations, Drouin said there was an effort to work with the Indian government to ensure accountability.
Drouin said a meeting was held with Modi's national security adviser, Ajit Doval, in Singapore two days earlier.
She said the decision was made to go public when it became evident the Indian government would not cooperate with Canada on proposed accountability measures. That included asking India to waive diplomatic immunity for the persons of interest, including the high commissioner in Ottawa. Drouin said this was not seen as likely.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said it took the extraordinary step of talking publicly about ongoing investigations because of threats to public safety. The Indian government denies the allegations and has expelled six Canadian diplomats in return.
Nijjar, 45, was fatally shot in his pickup truck after he left the Sikh temple he led in Surrey, British Columbia. An Indian-born citizen of Canada, he owned a plumbing business and was a leader in what remains of a once-strong movement to create an independent Sikh homeland.
Four Indian nationals living in Canada were charged with Niijar's murder and are awaiting trial.
Drouin and Morrison were called as witnesses at the committee alongside Royal Canadian Mounted Police Commissioner Mike Duheme, as well as the director of Canada's spy service.
Earlier this week, the Canadian government officially designated India as an “adversary” in its National Cyber Threat Assessment for 2025-2026, which notes increasing cyber threats from state-sponsored actors, particularly from India. This classification aligns with deteriorating diplomatic relations following accusations against India regarding Sikh separatists in Canada.
The report states that India is likely involved in cyber espionage against Canadian networks, and references a hacktivist group linked to India that conducted cyberattacks on Canadian websites amid rising tensions.