ISLAMABAD: A day after the UK newspaper, The Guardian, reported the Indian government’s involvement in assassinating individuals in Pakistan, the Foreign Office said on Friday it does not make official statements on media reports.

When journalists approached the FO for a response to the report, they were referred to past comments made by Foreign Secretary Syrus Sajjad Qazi and Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch on the issue.

At a press conference on Jan 25, Mr Qazi presented “credible evidence” of India’s orchestrated assassinations of two citizens last year inside Pakistan.

He had described Indian operations as sophisticated and multi-jurisdictional, involving the recruitment and financing of a diverse array of participants, including criminals, terrorists, and unsuspecting civilians.

Says official responses are not issued on media reports

The foreign secretary mentioned that although there were numerous instances where Indian involvement was under suspicion, he was particularly presenting two cases where Indian involvement had been definitively confirmed.

In her remarks on Feb 1, Spoke­sperson Baloch said the Indian network of extra-judicial and extra-territorial killings was “a global phenomenon requiring a coordinated international response”.

She said India must be held accountable internationally for its “blatant violation of international law”.

The Guardian’s report, published on Thursday, cited intelligence officials from both countries and documents shared by Pakistani investigators. It said India’s foreign intelligence agency “allegedly began to carry out assassinations abroad as part of an emboldened approach to national security after 2019”.

India has rejected the claims.

The report added that while India has previously been unofficially linked to the deaths, this was the first time “Indian intelligence personnel have discussed the alleged operations in Pakistan, and detailed documentation has alleged Research Analysis Wing’s (RAW) direct involvement in the assassinations”.

The report, quoting Pakistani investigators, said these killings were orchestrated by Indian intelligence sleeper cells “mostly operating out of the United Arab Emirates (UAE)”.

Published in Dawn, April 6th, 2024