For far too long, India has evaded responsibility for its insidious practices of cross-border terrorism, using its financial standing to force the world to look the other way. First, Canada and then, the US, but its high-handedness continues. Instead of being burdened with accusations that tarnish its reputation on the global stage, it either cries wolf or changes the game’s rules altogether. Although Pakistan has, on numerous occasions, put forward ironclad evidence that points to its neighbour’s active efforts to destabilise its government, leading voices among the media have also begun to take the pattern seriously. Revealing India’s external intelligence agency’s involvement in covert operations that go far beyond mere diplomatic disagreements, Washington Post’s explosive reports have unveiled alarming allegations: a methodical assassination programme to kill about half a dozen individuals in Pakistan from 2021 onwards. The similarities between at least six cases and the alleged operations to assassinate Khalistan separatists in the United States and Canada were uncanny. Of course, as has been its usual response, Indian authorities would neither confirm nor deny their role in the said murders. At best, they will issue a platitude-laced press statement that dusts its hands off any responsibility whatsoever. Not our official policy, New Delhi proclaims, making little effort to hide the sinister grin. India Defence Minister Rajnath Singh evidently spoke for his government when he had responded to previous such allegations with a flagrant resolve to enter Pakistan to carry out its targetted killings. That these calculated assassinations mark a new low for a country that seeks to project itself as a regional power is old news because recent history is littered with its unwillingness to mend its ways as a rogue state. The international community cannot remain silent while such dangerous actions unfold. The reports from The Washington Post call for urgent attention from global leaders who must recognize the gravity of the situation. It is high time that we demand a thorough and impartial investigation into the terror nexus that places the entire region at risk. Even if it dares to raise the propaganda banner once more, pointing fingers at the victim rather than choosing to accept its provocations, would it claim that credible media outlets have also joined Ottawa and Islamabad in weaving “absurd and motivated” tales? *