'Failed To Act Against Terrorism For 40 Years': Indian Envoy Slams Canada

In a sharply worded and at times confrontational interview on Canada's state-backed broadcaster CBC on Tuesday, India's High Commissioner to Canada, Dinesh Patnaik, accused Canadian authorities of having "failed for 40 years" to act against terrorist elements operating on their soil, saying Ottawa's long inaction had created a permissive environment for extremism and violence targeting India.

The interview, which came as British Columbia Premier David Eby leads a trade mission to India and as Ottawa signals a thaw in ties with New Delhi, quickly moved beyond economics and into the most sensitive fault line in the bilateral relationship: allegations surrounding the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar and Canada's broader handling of the extremist groups.

Patnaik pushed back forcefully against repeated assertions by the CBC anchor that Canadian intelligence and police had "credible information" linking Indian agents to Nijjar's killing.

"Where is the evidence?" the High Commissioner asked. "These are allegations that have not been backed by evidence. There's always easy to make accusations. Accusations are easy."

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He went further, turning the tables on Canada by pointing to what he described as decades of Canadian failure to prosecute or dismantle extremist networks.

"We've been talking about terrorism in Canada for the last 40 years. What has anybody done about it? Not a single person has been convicted," Patnaik said, referencing in particular the unresolved legacy of the 1985 Air India bombing that killed 329 people, most of them Canadians. "The investigation into the Air India bombing has still not yielded anything."

The High Commissioner accused Canada of applying double standards, demanding evidence when India flags suspected terrorists operating in Canada but expecting India to answer unproven allegations against the Indian state. "When I accuse you and you tell me evidence is not enough, I agree with it," he said. "When you accuse me and I tell you evidence is not enough, please accept it with the same alacrity."

Indian Envoy to Canada Dinesh Patnaik strongly issues rebuttal on Canadian Govt and Media propaganda on accusations against India. Speaks on 29 extradition requests where Canada has not responded. Says, my accusations need evidence but you don't provide any evidence for your… pic.twitter.com/mv0kthVB90

— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) January 13, 2026

Throughout the interview, Patnaik strongly rebutted the anchor's attempts to frame the issue as one of trust in the Indian government.

"The Government of India does not do such actions, never," he said.

He said that if any individual official were ever shown on the basis of evidence to be involved, "we will take action ourselves."

"We don't need you to take action on that," he added.

He also rejected the narrative that holding separatist referendums was the core of India's complaint. "We never said holding a referendum is a crime," he said. "We said the people involved in it are people who are wanted in India for crimes or who are doing terrorist activity abroad."

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The exchange was notable for how directly the Indian envoy challenged the premises of the questioning on Canada's own public broadcaster. At one point, he reminded viewers that the current court case in Surrey is against four individuals, not against the Indian state. "Where is the case against the state?" he asked.

The timing of the interview is significant. With Prime Minister Mark Carney indicating a desire to reset relations, accept Prime Minister Narendra Modi's invitation to visit India, and restart talks on a comprehensive economic partnership agreement, Patnaik said the two sides were "catching up" after a damaging pause. But he made clear that any durable reset requires a different Canadian approach to security.

"When we provide the information to the Canadian side that these are terrorists who are active in Canada, the Canadian side [says] there is not enough evidence for us to take action against them. That has been told to us for the last 40 years," he said.

Patnaik also summed up New Delhi's position: "Law is innocent until proven guilty. So let's take the law into its place."

Until then, he suggested, Canada's record shows not vigilance against terrorism but a long and costly failure to act.