Clandestine Khalistan Push in Malaysia Raises Security Alarms for India

This is yet another attempt by these elements to revive Khalistan movement in India. The other factor that the ISI took into account is that countries like Canada and the United Kingdom are no longer feasible for operations.

The Indian agencies are closely watching the development unfolding in Malaysia. An official said that the area to watch out for is the narcotic smuggling route. This will be tapped by the ISI and these Khalistani elements to push drugs into India. The propaganda is not too much of a worry, as of now, but narco smuggling very much is, the official added.

Smuggling drugs into Punjab has become harder owing to the massive crackdown by the Indian agencies. Further attempts to smuggle narcotics using drones had achieved success at first, but today the detection rate by the agencies is much higher.

An Intelligence Bureau official says that the Malaysia module would not be as brazen as the ones we got to witness in Canada or the UK. These persons will not take to the streets and chant anti-India slogans or indulge in vandalism. The ISI does not want this module to have a radical approach and come under the lens. Instead, it has suggested a sophisticated operation that would be hard for the agencies to trace.

The Malaysia module would be relatively smaller in nature. The members would be controlled remotely from Pakistan. Currently it is being handled by one Pardeep Singh Khalsa. He had recruited and radicalised several youth before sending them to Malaysia. The job of these persons would focus largely on raising funds discreetly and also smuggling narcotics into India. Another official said that the ISI wants to achieve something big in Punjab and hence would want this module to operate in a clandestine manner.

The official added that the primary agenda would be to raise funds. The funding sources are gradually drying up owing to multiple drug busts in Punjab. Further the donors too have turned away as they have realised that the so-called movement is not meant to address a cause, but indulge in terror, the official also added.

The ISI believes that over a period of time, these Khalistan elements could convince the large Sikh population in Malaysia to back the movement. There are around 100,000 Sikhs in the country and 100 Gurdwaras. This is however not for the first time that the Khalistani elements have tried setting up a major base in Malaysia. They have tried the same in the past, but have been rejected by the Sikh community, who largely focus on preserving their culture and language.

Another official said that he does not expect the module to have much success. India and Malaysia share excellent ties and together such modules could be handled. In fact, during the February 2026 strategic visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Kuala Lumpur, both countries condemned cross-border terrorism and agreed to a zero-tolerance policy New agreements were also formalised to enhance Intelligence sharing, combat terror financing and disrupt transnational terror networks.

- IANS