New Delhi: A Canadian news website, Global news on Friday published a news report claiming that Indian intelligence — Research and Analysis Wing and Intelligence Bureau, attempted to “covertly influence” Canadian politicians into supporting Indian Government interests through a planted source.
The report claimed that an Indian citizen in Canada in the name of “A.B.” who is editor-in-chief of an unnamed Indian newspaper, was being used for espionage and to sway Canadian politicians into supporting Indian government interests.
Despite the grave allegations, the Ministry of Home Affairs, IB and R&AW, when contacted, were silent on the report and refused to comment on the same.
“We cannot comment on this,” a home ministry official told ThePrint.
Senior IB and R&AW too did not comment on the alleged operation. “No comments on such media reports,” a senior R&AW officer said.
A source in IB, however said that an officer of IB is posted in Ottawa and R&AW too has its own set up at both Ottawa and Toronto under HCI and CGI respectively.
“If such an operation is on then it would be directly under the higher ups,” the source said.
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A court document
The report by Global News also mentions a document which they claim shows the alleged “foreign influence operation” by Indian intelligence agencies.
The document, the report claims, shows how an Indian national, accused by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service of espionage, was at the centre of the operation.
The report claimed that the court records identified the man as “A.B.,” editor-in-chief of an unnamed Indian newspaper. His wife and son are Canadian citizens.
“He allegedly met Indian intelligence more than 25 times over six years, most recently in May 2015 — a month after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Canada,” the Global News wrote.
The report also says that the man denied allegations of being “covertly” “tasked” by Indian “handlers,” and said he had only met the intelligence agencies in his capacity as an editor, Global News reported.
The report in Global News also quoted a letter by immigration authorities according to which, one of A.B’s tasks was allegedly “to convince politicians that funding from Canada was being sent to Pakistan to support terrorism.”
Court finds arguments unreasonable
According to the report in Global News, even though Canada refused to allow A.B. into the country on the grounds he was engaged in espionage, the court overturned that decision because it was based on a summary of his alleged statements rather than a transcript.
The news website also quoted the court order in which it said that the decision to exclude him from Canada rested largely on an immigration officer’s finding that he frequently met Indian intelligence officers and that the reason was not good enough.
“A.B. is a journalist and editor-in-chief of a newspaper. It is not inconceivable that he would meet with government sources every other month while maintaining his journalistic independence,” the news report quoted the court order saying.
The court also said that in accusing A.B of espionage, the immigration officer had relied on an “undated and unattributed” summary of his interview with Canadian authorities, which the court ruled was “unreasonable.”
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Allegation after NSICOP report
According to the report, the allegation of India conducting this operation comes soon after the release of National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) report on foreign interference.
The report had acknowledged that China, Russia and other states were conducting foreign interference activities in Canada and that “elected and public officials across all orders of government” were being targeted.
The report had not mentioned anything about India but made a note about the large Indian population staying in Canada.
The Global News report also states how India has long sought to pressure Ottawa over what it alleges to be continued support within Canada for violent extremists advocating independence for India’s Sikh minority.
The report further states how India campaigned against neighbouring Pakistan over its failure to curb terrorist organisations such as Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, which attacked Mumbai in 2008, killing more than 160.