Ottawa, Sep 6: At least two Khalistani extremist groups have received financial support originating from Canada, according to a new Canadian government report on terror financing.
The report titled ‘2025 Assessment of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Risks in Canada’ has identified the Khalistani extremist groups receiving financial support originating from Canada as Babbar Khalsa International and the International Sikh Youth Federation.
The development comes two months after a report by Ottawa’s intelligence agency said a politically motivated violent extremism threat in Canada since the mid-1980s has manifested through Khalistani extremists seeking to use violent means to create an independent nation state called Khalistan within India’s Punjab.
The latest report said the ‘Politically Motivated Violent Extremism (PMVE) encourages “the use of violence to establish new political systems, or new structures and norms within existing systems.” “While PMVE may include religious elements, actors are more focused on political self-determination or representation, rather than racial or ethnic supremacy,” it said.
Several terrorist entities listed under the Criminal Code in Canada that fall under the PMVE category, such as Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Khalistani violent extremist groups Babbar Khalsa International and the International Sikh Youth Federation, have been observed by law enforcement and intelligence agencies to receive financial support originating from Canada, the report pointed out.
In 2022, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada’s (FINTRAC) Operational Alert on Terrorist Activity Financing had identified Hezbollah as the second most frequently identified international terrorist entity to receive outgoing Canadian funds.
The 2025 Assessment report detailed the PMVE financing methods too and said Hamas and Hezbollah are established and well-resourced groups that fall under the PMVE category.
“Khalistani extremist groups supporting violent means to establish an independent state within Punjab, India, are suspected of raising funds in a number of countries, including Canada. These groups previously had an extensive fundraising network in Canada but now appear to consist of smaller pockets of individuals with allegiance to the cause but seemingly no particular affiliation to a specific group,” the report revealed.
Abuse of non-profit and charitable activities was a common concern for the organisations mentioned. (PTI)
