Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday reacted to a report that claimed India's Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) had undertaken the strategy to “eliminate terrorists living on foreign soil". In an interview with News18, Singh said, “If any terrorist will try to disturb India from any neighbouring country or try to conduct any terror activities in India, we will always give a befitting reply to them.”
“If that terrorist will run towards Pakistan [from India], Pakistan mein ghus ke marenge [will kill them by entering into Pakistan],” Singh said.
The defence minister added that India wants to maintain friendly relations with each of its neighbours. “In the past, we have never targeted any country or taken the first towards attacking any country…we never tried to grab land of any other country,” he said.
“But if someone targets India again and again, then India won't leave them,” Singh said in the interview.
Singh was reacting to a report published in the Guardian that claimed that the Indian government assassinated individuals in Pakistan as part of a wider strategy to eliminate terrorists living on foreign soil.
The report cited Indian and Pakistani intelligence operatives and documents shared by Pakistani investigators as its source of information. It cited Pakistani investigators as saying that these deaths were orchestrated by Indian intelligence sleeper cells mostly operating out of the United Arab Emirates.
The fresh claims related to almost 20 killings since 2020, carried out by unknown gunmen in Pakistan. This was the third time India was accused of assassinating or attempting to assassinate people on foreign soil.
Earlier, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had claimed that there were ‘credible allegations’ against India in the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Later, the United States also claimed that they had thwarted an assassination attempt on another Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.
The Guardian report alleged, "While India has previously been unofficially linked to the deaths, this is the first time Indian intelligence personnel have discussed the alleged operations in Pakistan, and detailed documentation has been seen alleging Raw’s direct involvement in the assassinations."
