Canadian security agencies have significantly tightened the operating space for pro-Khalistan elements following a bilateral meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Canadian counterpart Prime Minister Mark Carney in New Delhi. Intelligence officials say the coordinated pressure is now reverberating inside Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), which has long relied on Canada-based networks to keep the Khalistan movement alive.

Key Developments Since the Modi-Carney Meeting

A string of measures by Ottawa has followed the bilateral talks. The most significant is the passage of the Combating Hate Act (Bill C-9), which is set to come into force on 18 July. The legislation is expected to bar Khalistani elements from staging protests outside places of worship — a practice that has repeatedly drawn protests from the Hindu community in Canada, whose temples have been vandalised with anti-India graffiti and images of designated terrorists.

Separately, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) explicitly attributed the 23 June 1985 bombing of Air India Kanishka Flight 182 to Canada-based Khalistani extremists — a direct and unambiguous attribution that the agency had, according to officials, avoided in recent years. The bombing killed 329 people and remains the deadliest terrorist attack in Canadian history.

What the Government Said

Canada's Minister of Justice and Attorney General Sean Fraser said after the bill's passage: 'As hate continues to rise in Canada, communities have been calling for stronger protections against hate crimes. Those protections are now law. We've seen synagogues struck by gunfire, places of worship vandalised or burned, and people being targeted in their own communities. That is unacceptable. We cannot allow that kind of hate to become normal in Canada. These changes will help people worship and gather safely in their own communities, while supporting law enforcement with clearer tools to respond.'

An Indian official noted that previous Canadian governments had been reluctant to act against such elements, frequently citing freedom of expression. The current government, the official said, has recognised that the violence is now a domestic law-and-order problem — not merely a bilateral irritant with India.

ISI Frustration and the BKI Threat

An Intelligence Bureau (IB) official told reporters that the India-Canada convergence is directly frustrating the ISI's Khalistan agenda. Outfits such as Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), reportedly tasked by the ISI with launching operations inside Punjab, are said to be under severe operational pressure.

Notably, officials warn that this frustration carries its own risk. The IB official cautioned that Khalistani elements, cornered and desperate, could attempt a major misadventure in Punjab or neighbouring states. Low-intensity strikes are currently ongoing, described by officials as a strategy to keep the movement visible. However, agencies believe the ISI may push the BKI toward a higher-impact attack to demonstrate continued relevance.

Impact on Communities and What Comes Next

For the Hindu community in Canada, the Combating Hate Act represents a meaningful legal shield after years of temple vandalism and intimidation. Devotees had complained of terrorist imagery being displayed outside temples and anti-India slogans scrawled on walls — incidents that India had formally raised with Ottawa on multiple occasions.

Intelligence agencies are urging vigilance in Punjab even as diplomatic progress accelerates. The coming weeks — particularly around the 18 July commencement of Bill C-9 — will test whether the legislative and intelligence cooperation translates into sustained operational pressure on Khalistani networks, or whether desperation triggers an escalation on Indian soil.