India, Feb 21 : National Security Advisor Ajit Doval recently visited Canada at a critical juncture as Pakistan’s ISI seeks to revive Khalistani militancy in Punjab. During his meeting with Canadian NSA Nathalie Drouin, both sides agreed to shift from diplomatic estrangement to proactive security collaboration, aiming to dismantle the transnational infrastructure sustaining Khalistani extremism.
Canada has long served as a hub for Khalistani networks, with operatives in Toronto and Vancouver orchestrating targeted attacks in Punjab, issuing threats against India, and sustaining drug and arms trafficking. Diaspora politics and lobbying have historically complicated enforcement, allowing these networks to operate with relative impunity.
The Doval-Drouin engagement resulted in an agreement to share real time intelligence across four domains: Khalistani extremism, drug trafficking, cyber threats, and cross-border smuggling. This collaboration seeks to identify key operatives, disrupt fundraising and recruitment, target narco-terror activities, and track online radicalization while distinguishing legitimate diaspora concerns from extremist mobilization.
Strategically, this intelligence sharing reduces the operational safe haven previously exploited by extremists on Canadian soil. It constrains the planning of attacks in Punjab, undermines the financial and logistical networks supporting militancy, and limits platforms for propaganda. Short-term outcomes are expected to include arrests, freezing of assets, and disruption of recruitment and smuggling operations.
While the initiative has significant potential, its success depends on sustained political will in Ottawa beyond NSA-level engagement, navigating domestic electoral considerations and diaspora lobbying. If implemented effectively, India and Canada’s cooperation could weaken the global Khalistani network, limit extremist influence on diaspora youth, and challenge Pakistan’s strategy of external sanctuary based hybrid warfare.
NSA Doval’s visit signals a turning point in the battle against Khalistani extremism. By institutionalizing intelligence cooperation, both countries aim to reduce the threat to Punjab, disrupt extremist funding and propaganda, and reaffirm their commitment to countering transnational security threats.