Pakistan claims to possess “credible evidence” linking Indian agents to the murders of two Pakistani citizens on Pakistani soil. Foreign Secretary Muhammad Syrus Qazi revealed that Shahid Latif and Muhammad Riaz were shot dead in separate incidents last year, with the killings resembling cases in Canada and the United States.
Riaz was killed during morning prayers in a mosque in Rawalakot, Pakistan-administered Kashmir, in September, while Latif was killed outside a mosque in Sialkot, Punjab, in October. Qazi described these as “killings-for-hire cases” involving a sophisticated international setup spanning multiple jurisdictions.
In a parallel development, both Canada and the US had accused Indian agents of involvement in an assassination and an attempted assassination on their respective soils last year. Tensions between Canada and India escalated after the killing of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on Canadian soil. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau publicly implicated Indian intelligence agencies in Nijjar’s death, a claim dismissed by New Delhi as “absurd.”
In the US, an Indian national named Nikhil Gupta was charged with plotting to assassinate a Sikh separatist leader on American soil. The US Department of Justice disclosed murder-for-hire charges against Gupta, alleging his involvement in a foiled plot to kill a US citizen of Indian origin in New York City. The targeted individual was known for being a vocal critic of the Indian government and leading a US-based organization advocating for the secession of Punjab.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in an interview with The Financial Times in December, expressed the government’s willingness to investigate any evidence related to the assassination plot on a US citizen. Trudeau noted that Modi’s comments suggested a softening of India’s stance towards Canada, emphasizing a potential willingness to collaborate rather than resorting to confrontational tactics.