A report by The Guardian has alleged that the Indian government has carried out targeted killings of almost 20 “hostile” individuals in Pakistan since 2020. The Indian government has denied all the allegations, saying that they were “false and malicious anti-India propaganda.”
The Report
The news outlet interviewed intelligence officials in India and Pakistan to reach its conclusion. It also relied on documents shared by Pakistani investigators to shed light on the actions of India’s foreign intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW).
As per the report, India is said to have orchestrated the killings of Kashmiri terrorist Zahid Akhund (involved in hijacking of an Air India flight), Jaish-e-Mohammed commander Shahid Latif, Hizbul Mujahideen commander Bashir Ahmad Peer, Saleem Rehmani (on India’s most-wanted list), Khalistani leader Paramjit Singh Panjwar, and Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Riyaz Amhed, among others.
Indian intel official: “After Pulwama, the approach changed to target the elements outside the country before they are able to launch an attack or create any disturbance. We could not stop the attacks because ultimately their safe havens were in Pakistan..https://t.co/awJtKQ974W
— Derek J. Grossman (@DerekJGrossman) April 4, 2024
Other than LeT and JeM-linked individuals, the other targets include handlers of Kashmiri militants. “The allegations also suggest that Sikh separatists in the Khalistan movement were targeted as part of these Indian foreign operations, both in Pakistan and the West,” the report mentioned. It said that Pakistan has hesitated in publicly acknowledging the killings as “most of the targets are known terrorists and associates of outlawed militant groups.”
The report alleged that R&AW was involved in carrying out assassinations abroad as part of “an emboldened approach to national security after 2019.” It added that the systematic, targeted killings of dissidents by Indian agents on Pakistani soil since 2020 are “new and unprecedented.” The accounts further strengthen allegations that New Delhi has implemented a policy of targeting those it considers hostile to India.
Modus Operandi
R&AW reportedly started focusing on operations abroad after the 2019 Pulwama attack by Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed, in which 40 Indian paramilitary personnel were killed. The agency sought help from former IS fighters from Kerala to get access to the jihadist networks.
Citing Pakistani investigators, the report says that R&AW sleeper cells operating out of the UAE executed the killings. Meetings of R&AW handlers overseeing the killings are also said to have also taken place in Nepal, the Maldives and Mauritius.
Deploying a “religious method,” R&AW infiltrated Telegram channels linked to the IS and Taliban affiliates to recruit Pakistani Islamist radicals. It gave millions of rupees to local criminals or poor Pakistanis to carry out the assassinations. Additionally, it recruited jihadists to carry out the shootings by making them believe that they were killing “infidels.”
While the current findings relate to individuals charged with serious and violent terror offences, India was earlier accused by the US of being behind the foiled assassination plot of Sikh separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun and by Canada for being linked to the death of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. The intelligence official contacted by the outlet mentioned that following the allegations, India has put the targeted killings in Pakistan on hold.
KGB-Inspired Killings, India’s Response
The report claims that it is the first time Indian intelligence personnel have discussed such operations, and documentary evidence has been seen alleging the R&AW’s direct involvement in these cases. It mentioned that increased activity of these cells in 2023 led to almost 15 killings in that year.
Indian officers contacted by the outlet said that the Pulwama attack could not be stopped because, ultimately, the terrorists’s safe havens were in Pakistan. This is why they had to get to the source. The officer mentioned that any operation of this kind needs approval from the highest level of government.
Citing that India had drawn inspiration from Israel’s Mossad and Russia’s KGB in carrying out extrajudicial killings, the officer added that discussions around this intensified after Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s killing. “Every intelligence agency has been doing this. Our country cannot be strong without exerting power over our enemies,” the report mentioned.
The report said that, while denying the allegations, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs emphasised a previous statement by External Affiars Minister S. Jaishankar that targeted killings in other countries were “not the government of India’s policy.”