India has called allegations made by ‘The Washington Post’, about an Indian intelligence officer hiring a hit team to kill US-based Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, “irresponsible”, “unwarranted” and “unsubstantiated”.
The report, published on Sunday, alleged that US intelligence agencies had found that the operation to kill Pannun was approved by Samant Goel, the then chief of India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, said in a statement that the report has made “unwarranted” and “unsubstantiated” allegations.
He said there was an investigation being carried out by a panel set up by the government of India to look into the security concerns shared by the US government on networks of organised criminals and terrorists.
Pursuing terrorists
India has indicated it will pursue terrorists even if they escape to other countries. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had said on April 5 that India will enter Pakistan to kill anyone who escapes over the border after trying to carry out terrorist activities in India.
Singh’s comments came after Britain’s ‘Guardian’ newspaper published a report alleging that the Indian government killed 20 people in Pakistan since 2020 as part of a broader plan to eliminate terrorists living on foreign soil.
Canada has also alleged that Indian government agents were involved in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in British Columbia. India has been bringing it to Canada’s notice repeatedly that the country is harbouring anti-India extremists.
The nexus between organised crime, trafficking, gun running and extremist activities at an international level is a serious issue for law enforcement agencies, the MEA said in December 2023 statement.
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