Pakistan has been accused of masterminding foreign interference in Canada with the aim of undermining India's global reputation and advancing its own geopolitical interests, a newly issued report by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) reveals.
The CSIS 2024 public report outlines that Pakistan has used Canada as a platform to engage in political influence operations aimed at promoting Islamabad’s interests and countering New Delhi’s rising diplomatic and economic influence on the world stage.
"The Government of Pakistan has had involvement in foreign intervention in past federal and provincial elections, such as trying to influence secretly the choice of politicians and candidates who are seen to be more pro-Pakistan than pro-India," the report added.
The report additionally asserts that Pakistan's activities went even further than interference with democratic processes, suggesting that the nation is also engaged in transnational repression. This involves efforts to stifle dissenting and critical voices towards the Pakistani government in Canada. CSIS termed such acts as "one of the most egregious forms of foreign interference."
Pakistan will continue to target Canadian political institutions at multiple levels, as well as ethnic, cultural, and religious communities—especially during electoral nomination periods—said the intelligence agency. Media organizations could also be targeted, the report added.
In a first, the CSIS also admitted that Khalistani radicals have been working from Canadian territory to propagate separatist violence in India. The report states that there is a "small but active group of people" in Canada, who are involved in activities that include "promotion, fundraising or planning of violence mainly in India.
The intelligence agency singled out Canada's large and multicultural South Asian community as one of the factors that make it an important target for foreign influence operations. Such influence campaigns could use elements of the diaspora as "pro-Pakistan or anti-India proxies," the report alleged.
The same report also charged India with foreign interference, which New Delhi quickly and firmly denied. India's government called the accusation "baseless," pushing back against the charges.
The CSIS report highlights increasing anxieties in Canada about the role of foreign governments interfering in domestic politics and diaspora groups to advance their own strategic interests, complicating Ottawa's relations with both Islamabad and New Delhi.
Read also| White House: Trump Poised to Make Iran Decision Within 14 Days
Read also| Netanyahu Vows Retaliation as Iranian Missile Strikes Israel’s Largest Hospital
