Daily Times

India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) spy agency orchestrated a covert assassination campaign, fueling a wave of targeted killings in Pakistan, according to a report from The Washington Post.

The report adds that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi having positioned himself as the most assertive Indian leader since independence, is the driving force behind the the nation’s actions beyond its borders. These accusations highlight a new phase in the shadow conflict between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.

One of the most striking incidents was the killing of Amir Sarfaraz, better known as “Tamba,” in Lahore in April 2023.

Sarfaraz, a former prisoner implicated in the 2011 murder of an Indian intelligence officer, was shot dead by gunmen on a motorbike. Pakistani authorities alleged that this attack bears all the hallmarks of Indian involvement.

This case is part of a broader series of killings that Pakistani officials say began escalating in 2021.

Investigations reveal a sophisticated network allegedly orchestrated by RAW. According to Pakistani and Western intelligence officials, intermediaries in Dubai act as coordinators, hiring local criminals or Afghan nationals and funneling payments through informal banking channels like hawala. The operatives are believed to receive detailed instructions, often based on intelligence gathered through India’s extensive regional network.

According to the report, India’s murder-for-hire tactics used against dissidents in the West were initially developed and honed in Pakistan before being employed in other countries. India’s incumbent national security adviser, Ajit Doval, said back in 2014 that it was unrealistic to invade Pakistan but that India should use covert means to punish Pakistan for backing militant groups that attack Indian troops and civilians. “We can defend ourselves by going to the place from where the offense is coming,” Doval told a university audience. “Pakistan’s vulnerability is many, many times higher than India’s.”

India’s murder campaign is not new, in 2012, V.K. Singh, an Indian Army general who led operations involving small-scale bombings in Pakistan, made a failed attempt to assassinate the Kashmiri militant leader Syed Salahuddin, according to a former Indian official. A former Pakistani official also suggested that India might have been involved in the 2013 shooting outside an Islamabad bakery that killed Nasiruddin Haqqani, a suspect in the bombing of the Indian embassy in Kabul.

However, it wasn’t until 2021, two years after Modi’s reelection, which was marked by his tough stance on Pakistan, that a series of targeted killings began.

Pakistani officials argue that these operations undermine regional stability and erode trust between the two nations. Islamabad has raised the issue with global stakeholders, including the United States, urging an impartial investigation into the allegations.

Experts warn that India’s actions risk further destabilising South Asia, where decades of animosity between India and Pakistan have already fueled armed conflicts, border skirmishes, and proxy wars.

Around the same time, a US federal indictment revealed that Vikash Yadav, an officer with India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) in New Delhi, was behind an assassination attempt targeting Pannun, a Sikh separatist living in New York. Yadav instructed his associate, businessman Nikhil Gupta, to hire a local assassin.

Similar to operations in Pakistan, Yadav appeared under time pressure and suggested a larger operation aimed at eliminating multiple targets. However, unlike the events in Pakistan, US authorities quickly thwarted the plot after Gupta unknowingly reached out to a DEA informant for help in connecting him with a hitman. Simultaneously, Canadian officials uncovered an extensive Indian campaign against the Sikh diaspora, involving surveillance, intimidation, and even murder attempts.

While criminal elements were involved, Indian diplomats in Canada were also implicated in monitoring Sikh communities. Canadian officials referenced private communications and text messages between the diplomats, though the means by which these messages were obtained remains unclear. Christopher Clary, a political science professor at the State University of New York, pointed out that RAW’s methods of targeted killings appeared similar to those of Israel’s Mossad, which has successfully carried out assassinations in less-developed countries but was also exposed in a 2010 operation to kill a Hamas leader in Dubai, where agents were captured on hotel surveillance cameras.

The killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh separatist leader in British Columbia, in June 2023, also led to a diplomatic standoff between India and Canada.

While Indian officials have remained tight-lipped on the allegations, they maintain that their actions are aimed at countering terrorism and protecting national security.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration has increasingly relied on covert measures to tackle perceived threats, a strategy that resonates with his domestic audience but raises concerns internationally.

Despite sporadic attempts at peace talks, relations between the two countries remain tense. Pakistan has highlighted India’s covert operations as being part of a broader strategy to pressure Islamabad on issues like Kashmir and counter-militancy efforts. The revelations come as both nations grapple with internal challenges-Pakistan with economic turmoil and India with growing international scrutiny over its human rights record. India’s covert killings, however, adds a dangerous layer to an already volatile geopolitical equation.