India's Modi Brags About Ordering Transnational Assassinations

by Riaz Haq

May 3, 2024

In a campaign speech on May 1, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi bragged about his campaign of transnational assassinations of individuals he has labeled "terrorists". “Today, India doesn't send dossiers to the masters of terrorism, but gives them a dose and kills them on their home turf", he is reported to have said, according to a tweet posted by his BJP party. Last month, Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh made a similar admission. “If any terrorist from a neighboring country tries to disturb India or carry out terrorist activities here, he will be given a fitting reply. If he escapes to Pakistan we will go to Pakistan and kill him there,” Singh said in an interview to Indian TV news network News18. 

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a BJP Campaign Rally. Source: BJP

Earlier, Pakistan government accused India of carrying out assassinations of Sikh and Kashmiri separatists on Pakistani soil. “We have documentary, financial and forensic evidence of the involvement of the two Indian agents who masterminded these assassinations,” Pakistan's Foreign Secretary Sajjad Qazi said at a news conference in Islamabad.

Pakistan is not alone in accusing India of assassinating dissidents overseas. Canada and the United States are also investigating murders allegedly carried out by Indian agents on their soil. Indian spies have also been kicked out of Australia after being caught monitoring Indian diaspora in the country. "They monitored their country's diaspora community, according to  the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) Director-General Mike Burgess  as reported by the Australian Broadcasting Corp (ABC). "They asked a public servant to provide information on security protocols at a major airport."

Derek Grossman on India's Spy Agency RAW. Source: X

Commenting on the news fromAustralia, a US analyst Derek Grossman posted on X:  "Indian RAW gets exposed again, this time in Australia. Maybe, just maybe, they aren’t very good at the spy game". 

Gerry Shih of the Washington Post appears to concur with Derek Grossman's assessment of the incompetence of the Indian spy agencies. Referring to RAW's assassination plot against Sikh activist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a US citizen, Shih reported as follows: 

"After the plot against Pannun failed, the decision to entrust (Vikram) Yadav with the high-risk mission sparked recriminations within the agency, former officials said. Rather than joining RAW as a junior officer, Yadav had been brought in midcareer from India’s less prestigious Central Reserve Police Force, said one former official. As a result, the official said, Yadav lacked training and skills needed for an operation that meant going up against sophisticated U.S. counterintelligence capabilities". 

Back in 2018, India's former RAW officers, including one ex chief, have blamed Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav, arrested by Pakistan in 2016, for getting caught in Pakistan as a "result of unprofessionalism", according to a report in India's "The Quint" owned and operated by a joint venture of Bloomberg News and Quintillion Media. The report that appeared briefly on The Quint website was later removed, apparently under pressure from the Indian government.

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  • Riaz Haq

    Sikh assassinations: Are the US and Canada raising the heat on India? | Politics News | Al Jazeera


    https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/6/24/sikh-assassinations-are-th...

    But Canada is not the only country where the overseas actions of Indian security agencies are under scrutiny.

    The Czech Republic has extradited Indian national Nikhil Gupta to the US, where prosecutors have accused him of involvement in an unsuccessful murder-for-hire plot to kill Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.

    Gupta, 53, who was arrested last year in June by Czech authorities while travelling from India to Prague, reached the US on June 14.

    Much like in the Nijjar case, the Indian government has sought to dissociate itself from the plot against Pannun. However, it has said it will formally investigate security concerns raised by Washington.

    Last month, Washington said it was satisfied so far with India’s moves to ensure accountability in the alleged plots while adding that many steps still needed to be taken.

    Jun 24, 2024

  • Riaz Haq

    Ashok Swain
    @ashoswai
    Canada’s PM Justin Trudeau says Indian diplomats of the Modi regime, together with an Indian criminal gang, are engaged in murder & extortion of Canadians in Canada. When a criminal heads the government, it turns the government machinery to a criminal gang!

    https://x.com/ashoswai/status/1845949810932596861

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    Canada on Monday ordered six Indian diplomats to leave the country, including India’s top diplomat in Ottawa, Sanjay Kumar Verma, officials said.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/10/14/canada-modi-sikhs-v...

    The killing of a Sikh separatist in Canada last year was part of a broader campaign of violence against Indian dissidents directed by a senior official in the Indian government and an operative in the country’s spy agency, according to Canadian officials who cited intercepted Indian communications and other newly acquired information.

    Canadian authorities have also identified at least six Indian diplomats serving in Canada who were directly involved in gathering detailed intelligence on Sikh separatists who were then killed, attacked or threatened by India’s criminal proxies, Canadian officials said.

    Canada ordered all six of those diplomats to leave the country in notices that were sent early Monday, the officials said. Among them were India’s top diplomat in the country, Sanjay Kumar Verma, and its top consular official in Toronto, the officials said.



    The Biden administration, which has cultivated closer ties with India, last year confronted Modi administration officials with intelligence that an officer in India’s Research and Analysis Wing, a spy service known as RAW, was behind an attempt to assassinate a Sikh separatist in New York — a failed plot with parallels to the Nijjar case in Canada. The Post identified the RAW officer as Vikram Yadav, though he was not named in a U.S. indictment accusing an alleged Indian drug trafficker of seeking to hire a hit man to carry out the killing.

    Nijjar and Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the target of the New York plot, were leaders of a movement that for decades has campaigned to carve out an independent Sikh state in northern India. The movement was marked by violent clashes in the 1980s, but has been relatively dormant since a crackdown led to a mass exodus of Sikhs to other countries.

    Modi, who came to power as a champion of Hindu nationalism, has revived concerns about the supposed threat posed by Sikhs living abroad. Modi and other officials have frequently accused Canada, which has the world’s largest population of Sikhs outside India, of harboring terrorists.



    Canadian officials said they only recently began to grasp the magnitude of the covert campaign of violence India has waged against Sikhs as new evidence emerged from an ongoing investigation of Nijjar’s killing that is led by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police but has involved other agencies, as well as intelligence provided by the United States and other allies.

    Officials said the investigation has uncovered evidence of Indian government involvement in home invasions, drive-by shootings, arson and at least one additional killing.

    Officials cited the death of Sukhdool Singh, who was shot in Winnipeg on Sept. 20, 2023, less than a day after he was featured in a wanted list of gangsters posted on X by India’s National Investigation Agency. The killing came two days after Trudeau publicly accused India of killing Nijjar.

    Oct 14, 2024

  • Riaz Haq

    Pravin Sawhney
    @PravinSawhney
    As the SCO meeting which begins in Islamabad today, three Pakistan's bilaterals to watch out for are with:
    1. Russian 76 member strong delegation
    2. 200 members strong Chinese delegation
    3. with Iran delegation.
    These bilaterals will likely have impact on Pakistan's sought Brics membership - at 16th Brics in Russia from Oct 22-24.

    Pakistan's two big geopolitical advantages (if it can harness them) are:
    A. It has developed close ties with two Great Powers (China & Russia) which matter most in Asia Pacific
    B. It can play an important role in Middle East - when it is at brink of larger regional war.

    India's minister
    @DrSJaishankar
    is expected to talk about terrorism & sovereignty- which given India's recent spat with Canada is not likely to sound credible!

    https://x.com/PravinSawhney/status/1845996235762893255

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    Foreign dignitaries arrive for SCO summit spadework

    https://www.dawn.com/news/1865054

    Informed sources told Dawn that a four-member delegation from India, 76 delegates from Russia, 15 representatives of China, a two-member team from Iran and a four-member delegation from Kyrgyzstan reached Islamabad on Sunday.

    Seven delegates of SCO also arrived in the capital.


    Government of Pakistan
    @GovtofPakistan
    Pakistan is honored to host the 23rd SCO Heads of Government Meeting in Islamabad from October 15th to 16th, reflecting its commitment to regional cooperation.

    The summit will focus on enhancing regional cooperation, trade, and financial integrity among member states, significantly boosting Pakistan’s image and future prospects. By positioning Pakistan as a trade hub for Central Asia, the summit aims to promote economic integration, a digital economy and cultural exchanges, fostering regional prosperity and stability.

    https://x.com/GovtofPakistan/status/1845693140369330493

    Oct 15, 2024