CSIS Acknowledges Khalistani Terrorist Role in 1985 Air India Bombing

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) has, for the first time in over 40 years, acknowledged the involvement of Khalistani terrorists in the bombing of Air India Flight 182, which killed 329 people in 1985. Calling the Kanishka tragedy "a heinous act of terror", the Ottawa's intelligence agency blamed the Canada-based Khalistani terrorists for planting the explosive device. "On this National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Terrorism, CSIS remembers the 329 people on Air India Flight 182 who lost their lives due to a heinous act of terror. On June 23, 1985, a bomb planted by Canada‑based Khalistani extremists destroyed the aircraft, killing everyone on board—most of them Canadians. It remains the deadliest terrorist attack in Canada’s history and a defining moment for our national security community," the agency posted on Facebook.

Canadian prime minister Mark Carney on Tuesday called the bombing the "deadliest attack in our country’s history", saying that Canada stands against violent extremism in all its forms. "Forty-one years ago today, the bombing of Air India Flight 182 claimed 329 innocent lives, including 268 Canadians. It remains the deadliest terrorist attack in Canada’s history," the prime minister said in a statement.

On June 23, 1985, Air India Flight 182, also known as the Kanishka, was travelling from Montreal to New Delhi via London when a bomb concealed in checked baggage exploded mid-air off the coast of Ireland, about 45 minutes before the aircraft was due to land at Heathrow Airport. All 329 people on board were killed, most of them Canadian citizens of Indian origin. The bombing was blamed on Sikh militants in retaliation to 'Operation Bluestar' to flush out militants from the Golden Temple in 1984. The suitcase containing the explosive had been checked in by a passenger who never boarded the flight. Of those killed, 268 were Canadian citizens, most of them of Indian origin, while 24 were Indian nationals. Search teams recovered only 131 bodies from the Atlantic Ocean. Canadian investigators concluded that the bombing was carried out by Sikh separatists in retaliation for Operation Blue Star. Off late, Canada and India have initiated a series of measures to rebuild relations after Carney became the prime minister in March last year. The ties between the two countries hit rock bottom following then-prime minister Justin Trudeau's allegations in 2023 of a potential Indian link to the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada.