Indian defense minister denies ordering assassinations in Pakistan

By Irmak Akcan

ANKARA (AA) – India’s defense minister on Friday denied that the government had ordered "at least 20 assassinations in Pakistan" since 2020.

Responding to the claim put forward by British daily The Guardian, Rajnath Singh told News 18, "If any terrorist tries to disturb India from Pakistan, we will give a fitting reply. If needed, we will enter Pakistan and kill. If someone tries to disturb India with terror, he will not be spared," as quoted by the Hindustan Times.

Singh also claimed: "India has never attacked any country, nor has it occupied an inch of any other country's land."

"But those who target India repeatedly, enter India, and spread terrorism will not be spared," he also told News 18, according to the Hindustan Times.

The Guardian on Thursday claimed that the Indian government was responsible for the killing of 20 people "considered terrorists" in Pakistan since 2020.

The piece included statements by intelligence officers from India and Pakistan, documents shared by Pakistani researchers, and allegations about how India began to organize assassinations abroad under a change in national security policy after 2019.