On Friday, the Foreign Office stated that the Indian network involving extrajudicial and extraterritorial killings has evolved into a “global issue” necessitating a unified, international approach.
Following The Guardian’s Thursday report, which claimed that the Indian government assassinated individuals in Pakistan as part of a broader strategy to eliminate terrorists living abroad, intelligence officials from both countries and Pakistani investigators’ documents have been cited. These sources suggest that India’s foreign intelligence agency started executing assassinations overseas as part of a strengthened national security approach after 2019.
However, India has refuted these allegations. The Foreign Office stated that such assassinations of Pakistani citizens on Pakistani soil are a clear violation of the nation’s sovereignty and a breach of the UN Charter. The FO also referred to a January press conference by Foreign Secretary Syrus Sajjad Qazi, where he mentioned “credible evidence” linking Indian agents to the killings of two Pakistani nationals in Sialkot and Rawalakot.
In recent times, a series of incidents have revealed the growing complexity and audacity of terrorist activities allegedly backed by India within Pakistan’s borders. These cases show striking similarities to patterns observed in other countries, such as Canada and the United States. In October 2023, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau referred to credible evidence suggesting a possible connection between Indian agents and the murder of a Sikh separatist leader.
The following month, the US Department of Justice announced that an Indian government official was involved in an unsuccessful plot to assassinate a Sikh separatist on American soil. The Foreign Office emphasized the importance of bringing the perpetrators, facilitators, financiers, and sponsors of these extrajudicial and extraterritorial killings to justice. They also urged that India be held accountable internationally for its apparent violation of international law.
Report says Indian involvement in up to 20 killings in Pakistan
According to The Guardian’s report, there are allegations that Delhi has implemented a policy to target those perceived as hostile to India. India has faced public accusations from the United States and Canada for their involvement in the murders of dissident activists.
The recent claims involve nearly 20 killings since 2020, carried out by unidentified gunmen in Pakistan. This is the first time Indian intelligence personnel have discussed these alleged operations in Pakistan, and detailed documentation has pointed to the Research Analysis Wing direct involvement in these assassinations. The report suggests that Sikh separatists in the Khalistan movement were targeted as part of these Indian foreign operations, both in Pakistan and the West.
Pakistani investigators, as quoted in the report, claim that these killings were orchestrated by Indian intelligence sleeper cells, primarily operating out of the United Arab Emirates. Two Indian intelligence officers were cited in the report, stating that RAW’s shift to focusing on dissidents abroad was triggered by the 2019 Pulwama attack, which resulted in the loss of numerous security personnel in held Kashmir and was blamed on Pakistan.
Following the Pulwama incident, India shifted its strategy to target external elements before they could initiate attacks or cause disturbances. An unnamed Indian intelligence officer told The Guardian that they couldn’t completely stop the attacks due to the attackers’ safe havens in Pakistan. To conduct such operations, approval from the highest government level was required. India reportedly drew inspiration from intelligence agencies like Israel’s Mossad and Russia’s KGB.
According to two anonymous Pakistani intelligence agency officials, Islamabad suspects India’s involvement in up to 20 killings since 2020. The officials pointed to evidence from seven undisclosed cases, including witness testimonies, arrest records, financial statements, WhatsApp messages, and passports, which they claim reveal Indian spies’ operations to assassinate targets in Pakistan. The Guardian viewed these documents, but their authenticity couldn’t be independently verified.
Intelligence sources allege that targeted assassinations increased significantly in 2023, with India possibly involved in the suspected deaths of about 15 people, mostly shot at close range by unknown gunmen. Payments to criminals or impoverished locals for these murders were often made through Dubai, and meetings of RAW handlers overseeing the killings took place in Nepal, the Maldives, and Mauritius, according to the report.
A Pakistani official stated that Indian agents had worked for around two years to establish sleeper cells in the UAE, primarily responsible for organizing executions. The Guardian’s figures aligned with those collected by analysts tracking unclaimed militant killings in Pakistan.
However, India denied the report, with the Ministry of External Affairs calling the claims “false and malicious anti-India propaganda.” Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar had previously stated that targeted killings in other countries were “not the government of India’s policy.”
