Responding to concerns expressed by India about pro-Khalistan diaspora groups in New Zealand, the country’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said on Wednesday that his country was a “liberal democracy” and that he did not want to “import politics” into its immigrant community, The Hindu reported.

Khalistan is a proposed independent state for Sikhs sought by some groups.

“New Zealand is increasingly a multicultural country,” Luxon said during an interview to The Hindu when asked about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks that he expected Wellington to clamp down on “illegal activities” by anti-Indian elements in his country. “But we don’t want to import politics from overseas.”

Luxon is the chief guest at the Raisina Dialogue, an annual multilateral conference on geopolitics and geo-economics in New Delhi. The prime minister met with Modi on Monday to announce a defence agreement and begin discussing a trade agreement.

Modi and Luxon also delivered a joint address and noted their shared concerns about terrorism, the Hindustan Times reported. Citing terrorist attacks in both countries, Modi said that all such forms of violence were unacceptable.

“Strict action is necessary against terror perpetrators,” the Hindustan Times quoted Modi as saying. “We will work together against terrorist, separatist and extremist elements. We have shared our concern regarding anti-India activities in New Zealand. We are sure we will keep getting the New Zealand government’s assistance against these illegal activities.”

Later in the day, the Ministry of External Affairs also said that India and New Zealand discussed the matter of pro-Khalistan groups during their bilateral talks in New Delhi.

“About Khalistan, this was an issue that came up,” Jaideep Mazumdar, secretary (east) in the ministry said. “We do alert our friends to the activities of anti-India elements in their countries and their abuse of freedom of speech and other democratic freedoms to glorify terrorism and to threaten attacks against our diplomats, our parliament or our events in India.”

Speaking about the pro-Khalistan diaspora groups in New Zealand, Luxon on Wednesday told The Hindu that his government did not see “great fault lines within the Indian community” in his country.

“With respect, I understand the concerns that India has raised with me at a macro level around the threat that they see,” he said. “But as I said privately [to Modi], and publicly, New Zealand is a liberal democracy. We believe in free speech. We make sure that that free speech is legal.”

He added: “We have an outstanding police force that actually enforces our laws. A liberal democracy enables people to take out protests, but equally, it has to be legal, and police enforce that.”

Responding to a question about whether Wellington would allow another referendum on Khalistan to be held – similar to one that was held by separatist group Sikhs for Justice in Auckland in November – Luxon reiterated that New Zealand took pride in ensuring free speech.

The referendum had been allowed by the New Zealand authorities citing freedom of expression and was criticised by India’s Ministry of External Affairs.

Sikhs for Justice is headed by separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun and is banned in India under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. It has organised similar referendums in Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom.

“All I am just saying to you is, New Zealand is a multicultural country, and our immigrants that come to New Zealand to become New Zealanders in our society are deeply committed to the way that we want to work,” Luxon told The Hindu. “We have got challenges like everybody has, but the point I am trying to make is that we have a pretty harmonious society, and our new migrants understand that.”

Responding to a question about the Canadian government accusing Indian government agents of being involved in the assassination of a pro-Khalistan activist in Canada, and a New Zealand intelligence report that came out at the time about the dangers of foreign interference with a reference to New Delhi, Luxon said that his country’s position was pretty well understood.

“There is no tolerance for foreign interference in New Zealand,” he said. “We are a standalone nation that respects the sovereignty of nation states, and as a result, in a liberal democracy, it’s really important that we uphold the laws that we hold ourselves accountable to.”

Diplomatic ties have been strained between India and Canada since 2023 after the murder of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar near Vancouver.

In September 2023, former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told his country’s parliament that intelligence agencies were actively pursuing “credible allegations” tying agents of the Indian government to Nijjar’s murder.

In January, a Canadian inquiry commission accused India of interfering in the country’s electoral process by clandestinely providing financial support to political leaders and engaging in disinformation.

In February last year, Canada accused India of trying to influence democratic processes in the country. The Indian government rejected the allegations.