Sikh leader\u2019s killing in Canada
\nSyrus Qazi in New York says Pakistan understands nature and behaviour of its eastern neighbour
\nISLAMABAD
\nThe Foreign Office on Wednesday said the news of India\u2019s involvement in an extrajudicial killing in Canada had shown that the country\u2019s \u201cnetwork of extra-territorial killings had now gone global\u201d.
\n\u201cIndia\u2019s assassination of a Canadian national on the Canadian soil is a clear violation of international law and the UN principle of state sovereignty,\u201d spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said at her weekly news briefing.
\nThe spokesperson was responding to a question on Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau\u2019s statement that he had \u201ccredible evidence\u201d linking the Indian state to Sikh leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar\u2019s murder must be based on \u201csome facts.\u201d
\nNijjar, 45, was shot dead in his vehicle by two masked gunmen in the busy car park of the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara in British Columbia, a Canadian province.
\nThe spokesperson said the incident was a \u201creckless and irresponsible act\u201d that called into question India\u2019s reliability as a credible international partner and its claims for enhanced global responsibilities. About India\u2019s previous record, she said for decades, the Indian intelligence agency RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) had been actively involved in abductions and assassinations in South Asia.
\nPakistan, she said, remained a target of a series of targeted killings and espionage by RAW. She recalled that in December 2022, Pakistan released a comprehensive dossier providing concrete and irrefutable evidence of India\u2019s involvement in the Lahore attack of June 2021. The attack was planned and executed by Indian intelligence.
\nIn 2016, she said, a high-ranking Indian military officer Commander Kulbhushan Jadhav confessed his involvement in directing, financing, and executing terror and sabotage in Pakistan.
\nOn India\u2019s accusation linking Pakistan with the Anantnag encounter, she said Pakistan had been stating time and again that India had the \u201chabit of implicating Pakistan in anything that happens under its watch, especially in IIOJK (Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir)\u201d.
\nAsked about engagement with India at levels of the foreign ministries and Director General Military Operations (DGMOs), she said the main channel of communication between Pakistan and India, i.e., at the level of diplomatic missions had reduced its strength to charge d\u2019affaires.
\nShe mentioned that if functional, the DGMO-level also existed between the two countries.
\nTo a question about the recent letter of Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar to the leader of the interim government of Afghanistan, she confirmed that the \u201croutine\u201d correspondence was made in response to Afghanistan\u2019s congratulatory letter to the caretaker PM on assuming his office.
\n\u201cThese are diplomatic norms. Our PM\u2019s letter was in that context \u2013 a positive message of friendship between Pakistan and Afghanistan,\u201d she said. Baloch said diplomacy means talking to the counterpart whenever there are difficult issues. \u201cFor us, it is important that we continue to engage with Afghanistan to discuss all issues that are concerned to Pakistan.\u201d
\nMeanwhile, Foreign Secretary Syrus Qazi has said Pakistan was \u2018not surprised\u2019 by Canada\u2019s allegations of Indian involvement in the killing of a Canadian Sikh leader, emphasising that Islamabad understands the nature and behaviour of its eastern neighbour.
\nHe made the remarks during a news briefing held in New York on Tuesday evening, pointing to Pakistan\u2019s own experiences with India, including the case of Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav, a serving Naval officer who entered Pakistan clandestinely. Jadhav had confessed to his espionage activities in Pakistan. Qazi emphasised, \u201cBased on our experience with India, we are not surprised by the allegations made by the Canadian PM.\u201d
\nQazi added that Pakistan was well-acquainted with India, having dealt with them for over seven decades. He recalled Pakistan\u2019s response to India\u2019s incursion in February 2019 and asserted that Pakistan would defend its independence again if necessary.
\n\u201cWhenever there is instability in Pakistan, India often had a hand in it,\u201d Qazi claimed, highlighting the need for the international community to understand India\u2019s behaviour on the global stage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sikh leader\u2019s killing in Canada Syrus Qazi in New York says Pakistan understands nature and behaviour of its eastern neighbour ISLAMABAD The Foreign Office on Wednesday said the news of India\u2019s involvement in an extrajudicial killing in Canada had shown that the country\u2019s \u201cnetwork of extra-territorial killings had now gone global\u201d. \u201cIndia\u2019s assassination of a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":351832,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[554],"class_list":{"0":"post-357247","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news","8":"tag-foreign-office"},"yoast_head":"\n