Toronto, Sept. 1 -- As was the case last year, Indian nationals comprised the largest country cohort making refugee claims in Canada though they also accounted for a high percentage of refusals. Meanwhile, an immigration expert in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) has argued that the escalating refugee claims are due to unscrupulous gaming of the refugee system. Between January and June this year, India was the source country for 9,947 claims referred to the Refugee Protection Division of the Immigration Board of Canada. They accounted for over 18% of the 55,093 total claims. However, the numbers have softened when compared to 2024 when claims by Indians numbered 32,563 out of 190,039. However, the rising number of claims has been criticised by Mississauga-based immigration consultant Kanwar Sierah. In a series of posts last week, he said, "This isn't immigration. This is a fraud industry with Government blessings." Referring to the bulk of the total claims coming from Ontario, he described the GTA as the "the breeding ground of blood-sucking 'licensed' consultants churning out copy-paste asylum claims for Visitors, Students & Foreign Workers". According to data posted by Seirah, claimants from India also figure among the top 10 nationalities when it comes to refusal rates, at 19%. That category is headed by Syrians, who have 50% of cases rejected. Indians lead when it comes to cases abandoned, making for 53% of the total and nine per cent of the those withdrawn. Sierah told the Hindustan Times that while there were a "few genuine" cases of refugee claimants from India, over the last couple of years, they had been "literally flooding the system when it comes to fake asylum claims". He said a large number of claimants came to Canada on visitor visas and were sold "package deals" which include a refugee claim. Many of those were based on their purported support for Khalistan. "I don't see persecution on the basis of Khalistan," he said. Other claimants include international students on study permits and those on work visas. As the path to permanent residency has narrowed in Canada, representatives of support networks for such students have told Hindustan Times in the past that they were aware of many cases where they opted for asylum claims to remain in Canada. Indian officials have said they suspect several persons briefly joined pro-Khalistan protests outside the missions in Canada so they could take selfies to furnish as proof of their support for the separatist cause and to buttress refugee claims....