ISLAMABAD — Pakistan alleged Thursday that a recent spate of assassinations of its citizens on Pakistani soil was orchestrated by India, claiming that the violent acts bear resemblance to cases that have occurred in other countries, including the United States and Canada.
Foreign Secretary Muhammad Syrus Qazi told a news conference in Islamabad that his government had collected “credible evidence” linking Indian intelligence operatives to the killings of two Pakistani citizens in September and October of last year.
“These were killings-for-hire cases involving a sophisticated international setup spread over multiple jurisdictions. Indian agents used technology and safe havens on foreign soil to commit assassinations in Pakistan,” Qazi stated.
“They fit the pattern of similar cases, which have come to light in other countries, including Canada and the United States. Clearly, the Indian network of extrajudicial and extraterritorial killings has become a global phenomenon,” asserted the Pakistani official.
Qazi identified the slain Pakistani men as Shahid Latif and Muhammad Riaz, saying investigations were also underway into several other killings in recent months to determine if Indian agents also sponsored them.
Recent Indian media reports have said that Riaz and Latif were wanted by New Delhi for their roles in plotting “terrorist” attacks against India and its administered part of the disputed Kashmir region.
The Indian foreign ministry spokesperson, in a statement, swiftly rejected Thursday’s allegations by Islamabad 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,” said Randhir Jaiswal.
“India and many other countries have publicly warned Pakistan, cautioning that it would be consumed by its own culture of terror and violence … To blame others for its own misdeeds can neither be a justification nor a solution,” Jaiswal added.
The Pakistani allegations came nearly two months after U.S. federal prosecutors in late November accused a man, who claimed to be a “senior field officer” for an Indian intelligence agency, of orchestrating a foiled assassination plot against an American citizen, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. He is the leader of the Sikh separatist movement in India.
Last September, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told an emergency parliamentary session that his government had “credible allegations” linking Indian agents to the slaying of exiled Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia last June.
New Delhi has rejected Trudeau’s allegations and has launched an investigation into U.S. charges.
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