Rajnath Singh wades into controversy of killings of 20 terrorists in Pakistan
Rajnath Singh (Image credit X @BJP4India)
Rajnath Singh reacts to Guardian report on killings of 20 in Pakistan
By Manish Anand
New Delhi, April 6: Union Minister for Defence Rajnath Singh has made first comment on claims by the Guardian about the extra-territorial killings in Pakistan of 20 terrorists. Singh has said that India will not spare terrorists even if they take shelter in Pakistan.
Singh’s comment came while he gave an interview to Moneycontrol, a news portal. He was specifically asked about the report of the UK-based daily. The Guardian had quoted unnamed intelligence sources in India and Pakistan in its investigative report.
The Guardian gave accounts of the killings of the likes of Shahid Latif, Zahid Akhund, and Bashir Ahmed. They have been known terrorists with terror organisations. They were leading members of Hizbul-Mujahiddin, Jaish-e-Mohammed, and other terror outfits.
Watch: राहुल गांधी के शेयर I क्या राहुल गांधी जोखिम लेने से बचते हैं?
“If terrorists commit acts of terror in India, and they hide in Pakistan, then ‘ham log ghus kar marenge (we will go and kill them)’,” Singh told Moneycontrol in the interview. The Defence Minister, indeed, kept his remarks vague, and gave a generic statement .
The Guardian in its report had alleged that India employed the sleeper cells active in the United Arab Emirates (the UAE). The report claimed that the sleeper cells were used to eliminate the terrorists in Pakistan. The Guardian stated in the report that India eliminated as many as 20 terrorists in Pakistan in the wake of the 2019 Pulwama terror attack.
“Koi bhi padosi desh se atankawadi hamare desh me atankawdi ghatna karega to hum muh tod jawab denge, who bhag kar Pakistan me chupega to wahan ghush kar marenge (If terrorists from neighbouring countries execute acts of terror, we will give befitting replies. If they go back and hide in Pakistan, we will go and kills them),” Singh told Moneycontrol.
Watch: लोकसभा चुनाव में एक ऐसा भी प्रयोग लोगों से 20 रुपये लेकर लड़ रहे चुनाव
The Guardian in its report had also claimed that India was employing “poor Afghanistan nationals in eliminating the targets in Pakistan”. Former diplomat Rajiv Dogra in a post on X said that the Guardian report was to malign India. The Pakistan-based media is commenting that the statement of Singh amounts to an admission of the extra-territorial killings.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has consistently dismissed the claims made by its counterpart in Pakistan. The MEA has on several occasions said that accusations are false.
Chris Blackburn refuted the claims of the Guardian in a report for Global Order. Blackburn faulted the Guardian for silly inaccuracies. For instance, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun is still alive and not dead as claimed by the report of the Guardian.
Watch: लोक सभा चुनाव का ये भी मंज़र कि हुआ झंडे पर बवाल I पिनाराई विजयन का राहुल गांधी पर तीखे सवाल
Blackburn, a security analyst, also faulted the Guardian for inaccurately using the photographs of the killed terrorists. Significantly, Blackburn argued that Pakistan’s accusations of India eliminating the terrorists through sleeper cells in the UAE was meant to malign Dubai. India and the UAE are strategic partners.
Also, India and the UAE have fast growing trade relations. Besides, the US is a common factor between India and the US. The three countries on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in New Delhi had unveiled the India-Middle East-Europe Corridor (IMEC), seen as a counter to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
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