As ties worsen with Canada, is India planning on moving the Financial Action Task Force to get Ottawa into Grey List?

The situation in Canada only seems to be getting worse with each passing day. After Trudeau’s tirade during which he made some baseless allegations against India, clashes erupted on Sunday after pro-Khalistan elements targeted the Hindu Sabha Mandir in Brampton, Ontario.

The clashes took place during a visit by Indian consular officials, which evoked a strong response from Prime Minister Narendra Modi who called it a deliberate attack on a Hindu Temple. He also said that cowardly attempts to intimidate our diplomats should be stopped and also urged Canada to ensure justice and to uphold the rule of law.

Ties between India and Canada have been tense for sometime now. Canada refuses to act on the Khalistan elements living on its soil. To make matters worse, they enjoy the backing of Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau as a result of which they are having a field day. India has very often sought action against such elements, but the Canadian government seems to have turned a blind eye.

The question now arises as to what India would do to get Canada around and admit its flaws and ensure that justice is done. The basic questions that arise are whether India will declare Canada as a state sponsor of terrorism or will it downgrade ties further.

Chances of approaching the FATF

Officials in the know of the developments tell Organiser that it would be too early to declare Canada as a state sponsor of terror. However the option of moving the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) against Ottawa for its soft stance on handling terror, the official said. We will continue to share credible evidence and build up our case. We have the details on how Canada protects these elements and how they have managed to bring in funds into the country. These funds that get in unchecked amounts to turning the other way as the same is used by the Khalistan elements to sponsor terror against India.

India is contemplating presenting a dossier to the FATF which would contain new and old details on Canada has been complicit and is proving a safe space for terrorists to thrive on its soil.

Canada does check all the boxes when it comes to harbouring terrorists and ignoring requests by India to act against them. Canada has been complicit on this issue, not now, but for very long now, the official explains.

After the Khalistani terrorists blew up the Air India Flight 182, Canada had feigned ignorance of the perpetrators being on its soil. Trudeau’s government shelters the Khalistani terrorists. It is a well known fact how dangerous these elements are and it would not be wrong to say that they are as strong as the Al Qaeda. Further the Canadian government has allowed the funding coming in through its banks to go on unabated.

Another official while explaining the steps that are being explored says that the first action was to withdraw India’s diplomats. Canada joined a very small list of countries from where India recalled its ambassador, the other nations being Pakistan, China and Fiji. This is a diplomatic move and does send a strong signal of how much India disapproves of Canada’s inactions.

Building a watertight case

Before going up to the FATF, India would work hard on building a watertight case. This would involve multiple agencies working in tandem to build up that case. Officials of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Enforcement Directorate and the Intelligence Bureau.

India already has a number of dossiers on the role of Canada in going soft on these elements. However the focus now would be extensively on filing the chargesheets against the Khalistan elements working both in Canada and India. Further the Enforcement Directorate would probe in-depth the money trail into Canada and how it reaches the coffers of these terrorists. The official cited above said that the first move would be to hand over this detailed dossier to Canada. Further the country would be given time to take action and if they fail to do in the stipulated time, then there would be no option to move the FATF, he also said.

One could take a cue about India’s further course of action from the statement that the Ministry of External Affairs had made. The ministry had said, “terrorism is being funded and supported by our western neighbour Pakistan, but the issue of safe havens and places to operate are being provided abroad, including in Canada.”

“We would want the Canadian government not to provide safe havens to terrorists and to take action against those who are facing charges of terrorism or send them here to face the charges,” the foreign ministry had also said.

Trade ties

India also has the option of downgrading trade ties with Canada. India would however take one step at a time to ensure that its diaspora which is present in a large number is protected. Canada is among the top destinations for Indian students. There are as many as 427,000 Indians studying in Canada. The official added that India reserves the right to take further steps, but at the same time keep in mind the concerns of those who are there on a study visa. Hence the visa policy is unlikely to be affected, the official explained.

The first official cited said that the immediate worry is however not trade ties with Canada as it is just around one per cent of India’s total trade. Canada’s main exports include pulses, potash, industrial chemicals, gemstones, iron scrap and minerals. India exports gemstones, pharmaceuticals, marine products, jewellery, precious stones, mechanical appliances, organic chemicals and iron an steel articles to Canada. Moreover trade takes place at a private sector level and neither sides have introduced any regulations.

However there has been an impact on the talks for a proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two countries since Canada made allegations against India in September this year. With nothing seeming to change in Canada’s approach, sources say that this deal may not go through at all.