'Malicious propaganda': MEA rubbishes 'Guardian' report accusing India of targetted killings in Pakistan
The Foreign Ministry has refuted allegations made in a report by The Guardian, which accused India of conducting targeted killings in Pakistan to eliminate terrorists. The ministry denounced the claims as false propaganda and reiterated that such actions are not part of India's official policy.
FollowIndia's External Affairs Ministry has rubbished a report published by the British daily The Guardian accusing the country of conducting targeted killings in Pakistan to eradicate terrorists, the foreign ministry has vehemently denied the allegations, labelling them as "false and malicious anti-India propaganda." Foreign Minister S Jaishankar reiterated that such targeted killings do not align with the government of India's policies.
The denial from the ministry was prompted by The Guardian's report, which alleged that Delhi has adopted a policy of eliminating individuals deemed hostile to India. According to the report, Indian intelligence agency RAW has allegedly carried out up to 20 such assassinations since the Pulwama attack of 2019. The evidence cited in the report was supplied by Pakistan and supplemented by interviews with intelligence officials from both nations.
Citing an unnamed Indian official, The Guardian drew parallels between India's alleged actions and the tactics of intelligence agencies like Israel's Mossad and Russia's KGB, notorious for extrajudicial killings abroad, as well as the assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.
The report mentioned Pakistani authorities presenting documents regarding some of the alleged killings, although their authenticity could not be independently verified. Pakistani officials also claimed that the assassinations were orchestrated by sleeper cells of Indian intelligence operating in the UAE.
These accusations against India are not new. Previously, both the US and Canada have accused India of involvement in assassinations and similar activities on foreign soil. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in September of the previous year, stated that there were "credible allegations" of Indian involvement in the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was shot outside a gurdwara in Surrey. India rejected these allegations as absurd.
Subsequently, the US claimed to have thwarted an attempt on the life of another Khalistani separatist, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. Allegedly, the assassination plot was orchestrated by Nikhil Gupta, an Indian national, and an unnamed Indian government official.
India has responded to these allegations by stating that it takes such inputs seriously due to their implications for national security. Former foreign ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi affirmed that relevant departments are examining the issues raised by US inputs.
According to reports, India informed the US that its investigation into the matter revealed the involvement of a rogue official, who is no longer affiliated with the agency.
