India and Canada are renewing their security partnership after Ottawa officially designated the Lawrence Bishnoi gang as a terrorist entity earlier this week.
The Canadian government’s decision, citing the gang’s violent targeting of community figures and criminal networks, prompted both nations to reinforce intelligence-sharing and anti-terror collaboration.
During a meeting in New Delhi on September 18, India’s National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Canada’s National Security and Intelligence Adviser Nathalie Drouin held what the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) described as “productive discussions” on counter-terrorism, transnational organized crime, and intelligence exchange.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said both sides agreed to “further strengthen security cooperation and reinforce existing mechanisms.”
Relations between the two countries had soured in 2023 after former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegations linking India to the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, B.C. Those claims were rejected by India as “absurd.”
Since then, both governments have quietly restored diplomatic and intelligence ties. Canada’s recent move to list the Bishnoi gang—alongside 87 other terrorist entities, including Babbar Khalsa International and the International Sikh Youth Federation—marks a significant shift in tone.
Canadian Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said the designation would provide law enforcement “more powerful and effective tools to confront and stop their crimes.”
The two countries have also exchanged new high commissioners and resumed cooperation in areas like trade, energy, and national security, signalling a cautious but deliberate reset in India-Canada relations.
