India is a perpetrator of foreign interference and espionage, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service claimed in a report on Wednesday.

India, China, Russia, Iran and Pakistan were the “main perpetrators of foreign interference and espionage” efforts against the North American country, the spy agency stated in its annual report submitted to the country’s Parliament.

“Indian officials, including their Canada-based proxy agents, engage in a range of activities that seek to influence Canadian communities and politicians,” alleged the agency. “When these activities are deceptive, clandestine or threatening, they are deemed to be foreign interference.”

India’s Ministry of External Affairs has not commented on the allegations so far. However, it had earlier rejected allegations of foreign interference previously made by Canada.

The intelligence agency claimed that these activities “attempt to steer Canada’s positions into alignment with India’s interests on key issues, particularly with respect to how the Indian government perceives Canada-based supporters of an independent homeland that they call Khalistan”.

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service also said that “Khalistani extremists” based in Canada posed a national security threat to the North American country.

The report alleged that politically-motivated violent extremism had manifested since the mid-1980s in the country mainly through Canada-based Khalistani separatists “seeking to use and support violent means to create an independent nation state called Khalistan, largely within Punjab, India”.

While some Canadians participated in “legitimate and peaceful campaigning” in support of Khalistan, a “small group of individuals are considered Khalistani extremists because they continue to use Canada as a base for the promotion, fundraising or planning of violence primarily in India”, said the Canadian spy agency.

The report added: “In particular, real and perceived Khalistani extremism emerging from Canada continues to drive Indian foreign interference activities in Canada.”

The report came at a time when New Delhi and Ottawa are seeking to improve diplomatic relations.

Ties between India and Canada had strained in September 2023 after Justin Trudeau, the Canadian prime minister at the time, told his country’s Parliament that intelligence agencies were actively pursuing “credible allegations” tying agents of the Indian government to the murder of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada.

New Delhi has rejected Canada’s allegations.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney met on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit and agreed to reinstate new high commissioners in each other’s capitals.

Other diplomatic steps will “follow in due course”, New Delhi said.

This is not the first time that Canada has accused India of foreign interference.

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

The Indian Ministry of External Affairs rejected the inquiry commission’s report, and alleged that it was Canada that was consistently interfering in India’s internal affairs.

In March, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service had claimed that India, China, Russia and Pakistan could try to interfere in the Canadian general election that were scheduled to be held in April.