A report indicates that a series of assassinations, totaling up to 20 since 2020, have been carried out by unidentified gunmen in Pakistan.
Recent disclosures by intelligence authorities from India and Pakistan have stirred up debate, suggesting that the Indian administration has coordinated targeted killings in Pakistan as a covert tactic to eliminate individuals deemed as “potential threats” residing abroad. These assertions, backed by evidence provided by Pakistani investigators, illuminate the purported involvement of India’s external intelligence agency, the Research & Analysis Wing (RAW), in orchestrating targeted assassinations beyond national borders.
As per reports from intelligence operatives, the purported assassinations, totaling up to 20 since 2020, were purportedly carried out by unidentified gunmen within Pakistan. Though prior suspicions had connected India to these incidents, this marks the initial instance of Indian intelligence personnel openly acknowledging their alleged participation in Pakistan. Allegedly, the operations aimed at individuals linked with various militant factions, notably Sikh separatists associated with the Khalistan movement.
According to Pakistani investigators, Indian intelligence sleeper cells, primarily based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), have been identified as key players behind these assassinations.The surge in targeted killings in 2023 is linked to heightened operations by these cells, purportedly involving the payment of local criminals or financially vulnerable Pakistanis to carry out the assassinations.
Moreover, Indian agents are alleged to have recruited jihadists to carry out the shootings, leveraging their ideological convictions to coerce them into executing the killings
The Pulwama attack in 2019, claimed by the Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed, is believed to have triggered a shift in strategy within India’s intelligence apparatus. This event reportedly led to an increased emphasis on preemptive action against perceived threats beyond the country’s borders. The allegations have drawn international attention, especially given similar claims made by Canada and the US against India concerning the killings of Sikh activists abroad. India’s Ministry of External Affairs has strongly refuted these allegations, denouncing them as “false and malicious anti-India propaganda.”
However, Pakistani intelligence agencies assert that they possess evidence implicating Indian involvement in the alleged assassinations. If proven accurate, these allegations could profoundly impact diplomatic relations between India and Pakistan, as well as with other nations where these purported covert operations occurred. Additionally, the disclosures raise ethical and legal questions concerning extrajudicial killings and potential violations of international law.
Arshad Hussain