Foreign Office issues strong statement following a British media report on assassinations carried out by Indian agency inside Pakistan n Spokesperson says it is critical to bring to justice sponsors of extra-judicial killings n New Delhi clearly violated Pakistan’s sovereignty: FO.

ISLAMABAD  -  Foreign Office on Friday strongly reacted to a media report in a Brit­ish publication about India’s extra-territorial killings in Pakistan, call­ing for a joint interna­tional response.

Pakistan issued the statement only a day after The Guardian detailed how Indian authorities had been targeting people in for­eign lands. Based on in­terviews with Pakistani and Indian intelligence operatives, the report said India’s spy agency, Research & Analysis Wing (RAW), was in­volved in up to 20 as­sassinations in Pakistan since 2020.

The newspaper noted India had drawn its in­spiration from Israel’s Mossad and Russia’s KGB that have been fre­quently accused of car­rying out extrajudicial killings on foreign soil. The Guardian said RAW was directly controlled by the office of Indian Prime Minister Naren­dra Modi and was wide­ly believed to be behind the murder of a Sikh leader in Canada and a botched attempt on an­other dissident in the United States last year. “The Indian network of extra-judicial and extra-territorial killings is now a global phenome­non that needs a coordinated in­ternational response,” the for­eign office spokesperson, Mum­taz Zahra Baloch, told Arab News in a statement.

She said Pakistan’s foreign sec­retary Muhammad Syrus Sajjad Qazi had shared evidence link­ing Indian agents to the kill­ings of two Pakistani nationals in their own country with the local and foreign media in Jan­uary. “These cases exposed the increasing sophistication and brazenness of Indian-sponsored terrorist acts inside Pakistan, with striking similarities with the pattern observed in oth­er countries, including Canada and the United States,” she con­tinued, adding such acts of New Delhi clearly violated Pakistan’s sovereignty and constituted a breach of the UN Charter.

“It is critical to bring to justice the perpetrators, facilitators, fi­nanciers and sponsors of these extra-judicial and extra-territo­rial killings,” Baloch said.

“India must be held account­able internationally for its bla­tant violation of international law,” she added. Meanwhile, In­dian defense minister Rajnath Singh told CNN News18 his country would not hesitate in killing anyone in Pakistan who goes to the other side of the bor­der after attempting to commit “terrorist activities.”

Pakistan aims to expose In­dia’s terror inside Pakistan as evidences continue to surface on Indian link, officials said.

India’s covert campaign of cross-border terror, culminat­ing in the targeted killings of in­nocent Pakistani civilians within the country’s borders is fast be­coming an open secret. Accord­ing to the foreign ministry, Pa­kistan has irrefutable evidence of direct links between Indian operatives and the recent as­sassinations of two Pakistani nationals. These acts were me­ticulously planned, involving a sophisticated international net­work spanning multiple juris­dictions. Indian agents, leverag­ing technology and safe havens abroad, orchestrated the assas­sinations on Pakistani soil. They recruited, funded, and manipu­lated criminals, terrorists, and unwitting civilians to execute these nefarious missions.

“We will expose India’s terror campaign at the global level at all platforms. The issue will be high?” said a senior diplomat.

Foreign Secretary Syrus Qazi earlier said the Indian media and social platforms shameless­ly celebrated these killings, por­traying them as victories against perceived “enemies” of India, flaunting their ability to exe­cute such illegal operations. Re­cruitment tactics ranged from social media enticements to the use of fake Da’esh accounts and talent scouts. The operation maintained strict compartmen­talization, employing teams of financiers, scouts, and assassins, with elaborate exit strategies to erase any trace of their involve­ment. “Today, we unveil details of two such cases, with others un­der intense investigation, soon to be brought to light. The first case revolves around the target­ed assassination of Shahid Lat­if. On October 11, 2023, a group of hired criminals gunned down Shahid Latif outside a mosque in Sialkot. Investigations revealed the sinister role of an Indian agent, Yogesh Kumar, operat­ing from a third country, who or­chestrated the murder through local criminals and terrorists,” the Secretary said.

He said Yogesh Kumar enlist­ed Muhammad Umair, a labour­er, residing in the same foreign country, to liaise with Pakistani criminals for the mission. Lo­cal criminals managed to pin­point Shahid Latif’s location, though initial attempts at exe­cution failed. He elaborated that in a desperate move, Muham­mad Umair himself travelled to Pakistan, assembling a team of five assassins. “Their hit on Oc­tober 11, 2023, led to Shahid La­tif’s tragic demise. Law enforce­ment swiftly apprehended the perpetrators, including Muham­mad Umair, attempting to flee on October 12, 2023. Each indi­vidual involved in the reconnais­sance and murder is now facing the justice system, with clear ev­idence linking the entire chain back to Indian agent Yogesh Ku­mar,” he maintained. The second case unveils the assassination of Muhammad Riaz, orchestrat­ed by another Indian agent. Mu­hammad Riaz was ruthlessly gunned down during Fajr prayer in a mosque in Rawalakot on September 8, 2023. Pakistani authorities tracked the killer, Muhammad Abdullah Ali, ap­prehending him on September 15, 2023, at Jinnah International Airport Karachi. Interrogations unveiled Abdullah Ali’s recruit­ment and guidance by Indian agents Ashok Kumar Anand and Yogesh Kumar, utilizing the Tele­gram app for communication.

Abdullah Ali received pay­ments through intermediaries based abroad, along with weap­ons and ammunition.

After an unsuccessful attempt on September 7, 2023, Abdul­lah Ali succeeded in executing Muhammad Riaz the following day. Law enforcement agencies swiftly apprehended Abdullah Ali and his accomplices across Pakistan, with ongoing legal proceedings.

Through Abdullah Ali’s con­fessions and technical evidence, investigators traced facilitators within Pakistan and beyond. We possess substantial documen­tary, financial, and forensic ev­idence implicating these two Indian agents as masterminds behind these gruesome killings.

Passport details of Yogesh Ku­mar and Ashok Kumar have been disclosed, with relevant third countries informed.

The pattern mirrors similar in­cidents uncovered in countries like Canada and the United States, painting a global picture of India’s extrajudicial and cross-border assassination network. British newspaper “The Guardian” has exposed the nefarious designs of India to spread terrorism in the region. The Guardian in its article quoting intelligence sources said Indian government assassinated individuals in Pakistan. Accord­ing to the article, Sikh separatists supporting the Khalistan move­ment are being targeted both in Pakistan and in the West. Modi government is killing innocent people on foreign soil as a system­atic strategy. The article revealed that India is spreading terrorism abroad especially in Pakistan. It said Modi has direct control over India’s spy agency RAW. The Modi government is pursuing a policy of targeting those it considers In­dia’s enemies.