Pakistan accused India on Thursday of orchestrating a recent series of killings of its people on Pakistani land, stating that the violent crimes were similar to those committed in other countries, including the United States and Canada.
Foreign Secretary Muhammad Syrus Qazi told a press conference in Islamabad that his country had gathered “credible evidence” tying Indian intelligence personnel to the murders of two Pakistani citizens in September and October last year.
“These were killings-for-hire instances with a complex multinational structure spanning numerous jurisdictions. Indian operatives exploited technology and safe havens on foreign land to carry out killings in Pakistan,” Qazi said.
“They are consistent with comparable cases reported in other countries, including Canada and the United States. “Clearly, the Indian network of extrajudicial and extraterritorial killings has become a global phenomenon,” the Pakistani official claimed.
Qazi named the deceased Pakistani men as Shahid Latif and Muhammad Riaz, and said investigations were underway into many other deaths in recent months to see if Indian operatives were also involved.
According to recent Indian media sources, Riaz and Latif were wanted by New Delhi for their involvement in organizing “terrorist” strikes against India and its governed portion of the disputed Kashmir region.
In a statement, the Indian foreign ministry spokeswoman dismissed Islamabad’s charges on Thursday as “false and malicious” propaganda against India.
“As the world knows, Pakistan has long been the epicenter of terrorism, organized crime, and illegal transnational activities,” Jaiswal stated.
“India and many other nations have publicly warned Pakistan that it will succumb to its own culture of terror and bloodshed… Blaming others for one’s own mistakes is neither justifiable nor a solution, Jaiswal continued.
The Pakistani claims came nearly two months after U.S. federal prosecutors accused a man, claiming to be a “senior field officer” for an Indian intelligence organization, of arranging a failed murder plan against an American citizen, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. He leads India’s Sikh separatist movement.
Last September, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told an emergency parliamentary session that his government had “credible allegations” linking Indian operatives to the murder of exiled Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia in June.
New Delhi has denied Trudeau’s claims and begun a probe into the US charges.
Maria Ghanchi