The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of Pakistan is facing mounting pressure to hold together its carefully constructed Khalistan-gangster network, as a coordinated crackdown by India, Canada, and the United Kingdom exposes deepening fault lines within the alliance, according to officials. The network — built to smuggle narcotics and arms while funnelling funds to the Khalistan movement — is reportedly showing signs of fracture as its two wings pursue conflicting strategies.

How the Network Was Built

According to officials, the ISI had deliberately engineered a symbiotic relationship between Khalistani operatives and organised criminal gangs, primarily operating out of Canada and the United Kingdom. The arrangement was straightforward: the gangster network provided muscle, weapons procurement, and narcotics revenue, while Khalistani elements supplied ideological cover and direction. For years, officials say, this arrangement functioned without significant friction.

The network's activities included firing at buildings and establishments belonging to the Indian diaspora in Canada, according to an Intelligence Bureau official — actions designed to generate fear and extract extortion money. Threats against diaspora members, desecration of temples, and sustained anti-India campaigns were among the documented tactics.

The Diplomatic Reset That Changed the Equation

The cracks now emerging can be traced, in part, to a diplomatic reset engineered by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with both Canada and the UK. With bilateral ties recalibrated, both countries have intensified their crackdowns on Khalistani networks operating within their borders. Effective three-way coordination between Indian, Canadian, and UK agencies has, according to officials, begun to visibly shift the operational environment.

'With the coordination in place and an ongoing crackdown on the movement, the fear factor among the people is slowly vanishing,' one official said. The Khalistani operatives who had long used these countries as launchpads for campaigns against India are, reportedly, reassessing their approach.

The Strategic Divergence: Soft Power vs. Street Fear

Faced with a shrinking operational space, Khalistani elements have reportedly opted for a markedly different posture — one focused on peaceful events, community outreach, and building public support by articulating the movement's stated rationale. The intent, officials say, is to shed the terrorist label and function as a legitimate separatist movement, raising funds through lawful channels and winning over a Sikh community that, in the majority, does not subscribe to the Khalistan cause.

'These elements decided that they would not indulge in violence now onwards and take a softer approach so that they could convince the people instead of generating fear among them,' a second official said.

This pivot has not been well received by the gangster network. Violence and fear are the operational foundations of criminal extortion — a soft strategy dismantles the very instrument through which these groups generate income. The decision has reportedly been actively opposed by the gangster wing, and that opposition, officials say, has driven a wedge between the two sides.

The ISI's Balancing Act

Counter-terrorism experts point out that the ISI now faces a structural dilemma it cannot easily resolve. Any violent act by the gangster network will be immediately linked to the Khalistan movement, undermining its non-violent rebranding. Yet severing ties with the gangsters is not a viable option either — the criminal network remains the primary conduit for arms procurement, and narcotics smuggling continues to be the movement's key funding mechanism.

Notably, the movement has found it difficult to gain any meaningful traction inside India, making diaspora-based support all the more critical. Officials say that for the ISI, keeping both networks aligned is imperative — any significant rift could prove catastrophic for the movement's momentum.

'The Pakistani spy agency may rein in the Khalistanis, but keeping the gangster network under check would be extremely hard as these elements would spiral further out of control,' one official warned. As the global crackdown tightens, whether the ISI can sustain this increasingly unstable alliance remains the central question.