Report claims Indian government ordered killings in Pakistan; Centre responds
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has categorically denied allegations of its involvement in targeted assassinations in Pakistan. The response came following a report by The Guardian that the Indian government assassinated people in Pakistan as part of a larger campaign to eliminate terrorists living on foreign soil. The allegations, according to the daily, were based on accounts of Indian and Pakistani intelligence operatives.
Why does this story matter?
The accounts appear to support suspicions that New Delhi has developed a policy of targeting people it considers hostile to India. To recall, both Washington and Ottawa have accused India of involvement in the killings of dissidents, including a Sikh activist in Canada, and an attempted assassination of another Sikh in the United States last year. Both allegations have been strongly refuted by the Indian government.
Increase in assassinations and India's alleged involvement
The report alleges that India, as part of its targeted assassination policy, has carried out 20 such assassinations since the Pulwama attack of 2019. Behind the killings were India's Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) sleeper cells, which mostly operated out of the United Arab Emirates. The intelligence sources claimed that the targeted assassinations increased considerably in 2023, with India suspected of participation in the deaths of approximately 15 people, most of whom were shot at close range by unknown gunmen.
India drew inspiration from Israel's Mossad and Russia's KGB
These allegations have been further supported by recent claims from Canada, which accused the Indian government of involvement in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. An unnamed official claimed that India was inspired by intelligence agencies such as Israel's Mossad and Russia's KGB, both of which have been tied to extrajudicial executions on foreign soil. He also claimed that RAW officials directly cited the murder of Saudi journalist and dissident Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi embassy in 2018.
Why Pakistani authorities are silent on the alleged assassinations
Analysts say Pakistani officials have been hesitant to officially admit the executions since the majority of the deceased are known terrorists and associates of outlawed militant groups, whom Islamabad has long denied sheltering. Some of the individuals whose assassinations India was allegedly involved in are convicted Kashmiri terrorist Zahid Akhund (involved in hijacking of Air India flight), Jaish-e-Mohammed commander Shahid Latif, Hizbul Mujahideen commander Bashir Ahmad Peer, Saleem Rehmani, Khalistani leader Paramjit Singh Panjwar, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander Riyaz Amhed.
Ministry reiterates non-involvement in foreign assassinations
In response to The Guardian's report, the Ministry of External Affairs reiterated India's stance on foreign assassinations. It said all the allegations were "false and malicious anti-India propaganda" and designed to malign the image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Echoing Foreign Minister S Jaishankar's previous statement, the ministry affirmed that targeted killings abroad were "not the policy of the government of India."
