On Tuesday, the US urged India and Pakistan to avoid escalation over cross-border terrorism and find a resolution through dialogue. US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller made the comments during a daily press briefing.
Avoid Escalation
Miller was responding to a question regarding Indian PM Narendra Modi and Defence Minister (DM) Rajnath Singh’s recent comments on cross-border killings. In a recent public rally in Uttarakhand’s Rishikesh, Modi said that India has a strong government today under which terrorists are being killed in their homes (“atankwaadiyon ko ghar mein ghus ke mara jata hai”).
What US Said On PM Modi, Rajnath Singh's 'Ghar Me Ghus Ke Marenge' Remarkhttps://t.co/a0Kin8mjiy
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Meanwhile, DM Singh asserted that India would not hesitate to carry out extra-judicial killings of terrorists “who flee to Pakistan.” In response, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesperson denounced the provocative remarks, saying that Pakistan was resolute regarding safeguarding its sovereignty against any “act of aggression.”
In response to a question on whether remarks by the Indian PM and DM could be considered a confession of the alleged assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada, the foiled murder-to-hire plot of Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in New York, and other alleged killings in Pakistan, and whether it was a concern for the Joe Biden Administration, Miller said that the US said it would refrain from getting “into the middle of this.”
On the question of the absence of any US sanctions on India with respect to the alleged assassination plot against Pannun, Miller said that while no such sanctions are coming, he would not discuss them openly.
Extra-Territorial Killings by India
A recent report by The Guardian alleged that the Indian government has carried out targeted killings of almost 20 “hostile” individuals in Pakistan since 2020. The targets included Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad-linked individuals, handlers of Kashmiri militants, and Sikh separatists in the Khalistani movement.
The report came amid a flurry of allegations against the Indian government in the West. Canada had alleged that India was linked to the killing of Sikh separatist Nijjar last year, with PM Justin Trudeau publicly accusing India of the same. The allegations significantly dented India-Canada ties, with the two countries withdrawing their diplomats and even temporarily suspending the visa services.
Similarly, the US said that an Indian government official recruited a man named Nikhil Gupta in a foiled plot to murder Khalistani separatist Pannun in New York. However, the Indian government has officially refuted all of these allegations.