Asked about a report in the The Guardian tying a spate of mysterious killings inside Pakistan to Indian agencies, Singh had told TV channel News18, “You mean terrorists? If any terrorist tries to disturb peace in India, tries to create turmoil in our country, he will not be spared, he will be given a befitting reply.Even if he enters Pakistan, we shall enter Pakistan and kill them.”
“The PM has rightly said… this is the power of India, Pakistan has also realised it. India has always tried to maintain cordial relations with its neighbours and there is no history of India trying to annex anyone’s territory, but if someone tries to threaten our country, and encourages terror activities, he will be shown no mercy,” Singh had added.
‘Provocative remarks’, says Pakistan
Reacting sharply to the comments, Pakistan officially condemned what it described as “provocative remarks” made by the defence minister.
“India’s assertion of its preparedness to extra-judiciously execute more civilians, arbitrarily pronounced as ‘terrorists’, inside Pakistan constitutes a clear admission of culpability,” the the Pakistan foreign office said. “It is imperative for the international community to hold India accountable for its heinous and illegal actions.”
On January 25, Pakistan foreign secretary Syrus Sajjad Qazi had said in a press conference that there was “credible evidence” of links between Indian agents and the assassination of two Pakistani nationals in Sialkot and Rawalakot.
In its statement on Saturday, Islamabad added: “Pakistan stands resolute in its intent and ability to safeguard its sovereignty against any act of aggression”.
“Such myopic and irresponsible behaviour not only undermines regional peace but also impedes prospects of constructive engagement in the long term,” it added.
‘Malicious propaganda’: India
Reacting to the foreign report, India’s ministry of external affairs has denied allegations that New Delhi carried out targeted assassinations in Pakistan, and called them “false and malicious propaganda”.
The ministry also underlined a previous statement by foreign minister S Jaishankar in which he said that targeted killings in other countries were “not the policy of govt of India”.
The killings last year of a number of terrorists, whose existence was denied by Pakistan as it rebuffed India’s efforts for cooperation, had foxed agencies and others in Pakistan. Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Riyaz Ahmed was killed outside Al Quddus Masjid in Rawalakot, PoK, in Sept last year. Chief of Khalistan Commando Force, Paramjit Singh Panjwar, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen while he was on a morning walk near his residence in Lahore in May last year. Others killed were LeT operatives Maulana Ziaur Rehman, who was shot dead in Karachi’s Gulistan-e-Jauhar locality, and Mufti Qaiser Farooq, killed in Gulshan-i-Umar seminary last year. Jaish-e-Muhammed terrorist Shahid Latif, the chief handler of the fidayeen squad that attacked the Pathankot airbase in 2016, was gunned down by unidentified assailants in a mosque in Sialkot on Oct 10 last year.
