FO sounds alarm over New Delhi’s ‘covert global operations’
Published November 24, 2023
FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch addresses a weekly press briefing in Islamabad on Thursday. — FO/Facebook
ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office on Thursday voiced concern over the alarming expansion of India’s covert operations, including espionage and extraterritorial assassinations, on a global scale, condemning these actions as blatant violations of international law.
At the weekly media briefing, while recalling that Pakistan remained a victim of India-sponsored terrorism and subversion, FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said, “India’s network of espionage and extraterritorial killings has gone global.”
“We have condemned and we are concerned about India’s reckless and irresponsible conduct, which we believe is a clear violation of international law and the UN principle of state sovereignty,” she added, commenting on a report in the Financial Times, which said that the United States authorities thwarted a plot to assassinate a Sikh separatist, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.
The Biden administration has conveyed its concerns to Delhi over the assassination plot.
Earlier in September, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated that Canadian security agencies were actively investigating credible allegations linking agents of the Indian government to the June murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh separatist leader, in British Columbia. Canada also expelled an Indian undercover diplomat in the country, indicating the seriousness with which it was treating those allegations.
Replying to a question, Ms Baloch said India has been involved in espionage and terror activities inside Pakistan. She reminded that Pakistan had voiced this concern in the past as well.
“If you would recall, last year we issued a dossier on the Lahore attack, providing credible evidence with regards to Indian involvement in a terror attack inside Pakistan. So, this is an issue of serious concern for Pakistan,” she maintained.
BRICS membership
Pakistan has formally requested to join the BRICS group, a significant alliance of developing countries.
“Yes, I can confirm that Pakistan has made a formal request to join BRICS, which we believe is an important grouping of developing countries,” Ms Baloch said.
The decision to seek BRICS membership reflects Pakistan’s recognition of the group’s growing clout, and the shifting geopolitical landscape, besides Pakistan’s desire to engage more actively with emerging global power centres, Pakistan’s request for BRICS membership comes at a time when the group is actively broadening its reach and influence.
The BRICS group, originally consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, recently expanded, adding Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt, Argentina, and the United Arab Emirates.
Published in Dawn, November 24th, 2023
Deadly business
ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office on Thursday voiced concern over the alarming expansion of India’s covert operations, including espionage and extraterritorial assassinations, on a global scale, condemning these actions as blatant violations of international law.
At the weekly media briefing, while recalling that Pakistan remained a victim of India-sponsored terrorism and subversion, FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said, “India’s network of espionage and extraterritorial killings has gone global.”
“We have condemned and we are concerned about India’s reckless and irresponsible conduct, which we believe is a clear violation of international law and the UN principle of state sovereignty,” she added, commenting on a report in the Financial Times, which said that the United States authorities thwarted a plot to assassinate a Sikh separatist, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.
The Biden administration has conveyed its concerns to Delhi over the assassination plot.
Earlier in September, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated that Canadian security agencies were actively investigating credible allegations linking agents of the Indian government to the June murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh separatist leader, in British Columbia. Canada also expelled an Indian undercover diplomat in the country, indicating the seriousness with which it was treating those allegations.
Replying to a question, Ms Baloch said India has been involved in espionage and terror activities inside Pakistan. She reminded that Pakistan had voiced this concern in the past as well.
“If you would recall, last year we issued a dossier on the Lahore attack, providing credible evidence with regards to Indian involvement in a terror attack inside Pakistan. So, this is an issue of serious concern for Pakistan,” she maintained.
BRICS membership
Pakistan has formally requested to join the BRICS group, a significant alliance of developing countries.
“Yes, I can confirm that Pakistan has made a formal request to join BRICS, which we believe is an important grouping of developing countries,” Ms Baloch said.
The decision to seek BRICS membership reflects Pakistan’s recognition of the group’s growing clout, and the shifting geopolitical landscape, besides Pakistan’s desire to engage more actively with emerging global power centres, Pakistan’s request for BRICS membership comes at a time when the group is actively broadening its reach and influence.
The BRICS group, originally consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, recently expanded, adding Saudi Arabia, Iran, Ethiopia, Egypt, Argentina, and the United Arab Emirates.
Published in Dawn, November 24th, 2023
Deadly business
DAWN
Editorial
Editorial
Published November 24, 2023
TWO recent reports in foreign media outlets have shed more light on India’s shadowy business of targeting dissidents and alleged enemies on foreign soil. The Intercept reported that — based on apparently leaked Intelligence Bureau documents — India, through its RAW spy agency, was running a network in Pakistan specifically to eliminate Khalistani and Kashmiri activists and fighters. The outlet’s scoop comes in the aftermath of the Hardeep Singh Nijjar murder; Canadian authorities had said the pro-Khalistan activist’s June killing in Vancouver was linked to Indian intelligence operatives. Lending further credence to The Intercept’s report was a story in Britain’s Financial Times, in which the paper said that the American authorities had thwarted a plan to kill US-based Sikh activist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. The report adds that the Americans had sent a diplomatic warning to India over New Delhi’s apparent link to the plot to harm the Sikh activist. Coming back to The Intercept story, quoting the IB documents, the outlet gave extensive details of RAW’s apparent attempts to neutralise Khalistani activists in Pakistan, as well as the murders of a number of ex-jihadis once active in held Kashmir. It also claimed that Indian agents based in Afghanistan and the UAE were active in these acts of subterfuge.
It appears that India has taken a page or two out of the Israeli playbook, for Tel Aviv, over several decades, has assassinated dozens of Palestinian, Lebanese and Iranian fighters and officials in various foreign locales. Yet while the Israelis might have mastered the dark arts, India seems to have overplayed its hand in several instances, especially by assassinating, or attempting to kill, dissidents in the West. Pakistan has long blamed its eastern neighbour of indulging in destabilising activities, and officials have also sent a related dossier of these activities to the UN. The Kulbhushan Jadhav affair — in which the Indian spy was picked up from Balochistan in 2016 — is perhaps the most well-known case of this kind. Though the Western states pamper India as part of their geopolitical stratagems, it will be difficult for them to tolerate New Delhi’s malign activities on their soil, which are in essence an affront to their sovereignty. These revelations also support Pakistan’s criticism of India’s roguish behaviour. India can literally get away with murder domestically, but it cannot be allowed to create mischief overseas.
Published in Dawn, November 24th, 2023
TWO recent reports in foreign media outlets have shed more light on India’s shadowy business of targeting dissidents and alleged enemies on foreign soil. The Intercept reported that — based on apparently leaked Intelligence Bureau documents — India, through its RAW spy agency, was running a network in Pakistan specifically to eliminate Khalistani and Kashmiri activists and fighters. The outlet’s scoop comes in the aftermath of the Hardeep Singh Nijjar murder; Canadian authorities had said the pro-Khalistan activist’s June killing in Vancouver was linked to Indian intelligence operatives. Lending further credence to The Intercept’s report was a story in Britain’s Financial Times, in which the paper said that the American authorities had thwarted a plan to kill US-based Sikh activist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. The report adds that the Americans had sent a diplomatic warning to India over New Delhi’s apparent link to the plot to harm the Sikh activist. Coming back to The Intercept story, quoting the IB documents, the outlet gave extensive details of RAW’s apparent attempts to neutralise Khalistani activists in Pakistan, as well as the murders of a number of ex-jihadis once active in held Kashmir. It also claimed that Indian agents based in Afghanistan and the UAE were active in these acts of subterfuge.
It appears that India has taken a page or two out of the Israeli playbook, for Tel Aviv, over several decades, has assassinated dozens of Palestinian, Lebanese and Iranian fighters and officials in various foreign locales. Yet while the Israelis might have mastered the dark arts, India seems to have overplayed its hand in several instances, especially by assassinating, or attempting to kill, dissidents in the West. Pakistan has long blamed its eastern neighbour of indulging in destabilising activities, and officials have also sent a related dossier of these activities to the UN. The Kulbhushan Jadhav affair — in which the Indian spy was picked up from Balochistan in 2016 — is perhaps the most well-known case of this kind. Though the Western states pamper India as part of their geopolitical stratagems, it will be difficult for them to tolerate New Delhi’s malign activities on their soil, which are in essence an affront to their sovereignty. These revelations also support Pakistan’s criticism of India’s roguish behaviour. India can literally get away with murder domestically, but it cannot be allowed to create mischief overseas.
Published in Dawn, November 24th, 2023
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