Islamabad: In yet another instance of Pakistan’s long-standing habit of blaming India for whatever goes wrong in the country, Islamabad has reached the doorsteps of the United Nations, alleging “undeniable evidence” of New Delhi carrying out “extra-judicial and extra-territorial” assassinations on Pakistani soil. Pakistan’s allegations of a ‘systematic campaign’ by India come as several countries have flagged cross-border attacks by terrorist groups who have been provided a safe haven there.
In its complaint to the UN Security Council on April 26, Pakistan, which has a “dubious record” of sending terrorists across the border, raised an ironic hue and cry by claiming breach of international law, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country. It further claimed that a network operated by Indian agents has been actively engaging in recruitment through social media platforms, financing and controlling the execution of these activities.
“Given the severity and implication of these actions for international peace and security, I urge the United Nations Security Council to immediately address and condemn these violations of international law committed by India, call for an immediate halt to India’s state-sponsored terrorism and respect of the sovereignty of all nations and support international efforts to hold all such criminals accountable,” wrote Pakistan’s foreign minister Ishaq Dar.
It also cited a recent report by the Guardian on extra-judicial assassinations, which India has categorically rejected as “false and malicious propaganda”. The Ministry of External Affairs has already clarified that targeted killings in other countries were not “the government’s policy”, yet Pakistan has once again raised the issue to sow discord against India and disrupt decorum on the international stage.
Terrorists killed in Pakistan
Ironically, Pakistan is talking about ‘state-sponsored terrorism’ from other countries when a US report on human rights abuses has mentioned that hundreds of casualties have been caused in Pakistan due to terrorist and cross-border militant attacks against civilians, soldiers, and police. According to the Center for Research and Security Studies, there were at least 386 reported deaths of police and military personnel in terrorist attacks and counterterror operations during the first three quarters of the year.
Pakistan is widely known as the epicentre of terrorism and also has a notorious record of shielding UN-proscribed terrorists like Osama bin Laden, Hafiz Saeed and Sajid Mir, and has been accused of providing them a safe haven for carrying out terrorist activities. However, the neighbouring country remains unabashed in levying unverified allegations against India, against whom it has launched major terror attacks like the 26/11 and the Pulwama incident.
Earlier this month, Pakistan had alleged the role of Indian agents in the killings of two Pakistani terrorists associated with the Jaish-e-Mohammad and the Lashkar-e-Taiba, which were rejected by New Delhi as “false and malicious anti-India propaganda”. A series of high-profile terrorists have died under mysterious circumstances, leaving the Pakistani government and military rattled.
Sheikh Jameel-ur-Rehman, a notorious figure on India’s list of most wanted terrorists, was found dead under “mysterious circumstances” in Pakistan in March. In a similar incident, a terrorist associated with Lashkar-e-Taiba, Habibullah, was killed by unknown gunmen who opened fire at him in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on December 17, 2023.
Hanzla Adnan, who was believed to be the masterminded of the attack on a BSF convoy in Jammu and Kashmir’s Udhampur in 2015, was also killed by ‘unknown men’ in Karachi in the same month. Before that, Khwaja Shahid, who was believed to be the mastermind of the 2018 attack on Sunjuwan Army Camp in Jammu, was found beheaded in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
Shahid Latif, a key aide of JeM chief Masood Azhar, was gunned down in a mosque in October 2023. Hafiz Saeed’s close associate, Mufti Qaiser Farooq, was also met with a similar fate last month– which was also dubbed as a significant blow to the terror organisations which are responsible for orchestrating terror attacks on the neighbouring nation.
Pakistan’s ‘dubious record’
The spade of over 20 unexplained killings of some of these terrorists has rattled Pakistan’s security and intelligence agencies. Instead of controlling the situation and strengthening its security amid a deepening crisis, it seems Pakistan has lost the plot and is focusing only on blaming India on the global stage.
On Thursday, India sharply retorted towards Pakistan’s UN envoy Munir Akram for remarks against India, including references to Kashmir, the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, during his address to the UN General Assembly. India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ruchira Kamboj said Pakistan has the “most dubious track record” and seeks to detract from the collective efforts of the UN through its “destructive and pernicious” remarks.
India has accused Pakistan for decades of rolling out a violent terrorist insurgency in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and of giving a safe haven to terrorists. In the early 2000s, India was hit by successive terrorist attacks orchestrated by Pakistan-based terrorist groups, including the 2006 Mumbai train blasts, which killed more than 160 people, and the 2008 Mumbai bombings, which killed 172 people.
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