India’s Israeli Strategy

The international standing of India and its credibility is going to be hurt badly as the Canadian Prime Minister informed his parliament on Monday that the local security agencies had credible intelligence that Indian govt was behind the murder of a pro Khalistan leader, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in British Colombia in June 2023. Soon after this announcement by Justin Trudeau, the Prime Minister of Canada, an official announcement was made by Canadian foreign office in which a senior Indian diplomat was expelled from the country. The ousted Indian diplomat, Pawan Kumar Rai, as per the Canadian intelligence agency was the head of Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) in Canada. He belongs to Indian Police Service and was posted to Ottawa as Minister Economic Coordination and Community Affairs in Indian High Commission.

India has also drummed out a Canadian diplomat in a reciprocal move. Over the years India has been persuading a strategy to eliminate elements which are viewed as antithetical to India’s sovereignty, solidarity and security. Such actions have already been employed by Israel against its enemies on the foreign land. For example, since 2010 Israel has allegedly been conducting a number of operations including assassinations, drone strikes and cyber-attacks against its adversaries. Most of these targets were attached to Iran’s nuclear program in which Iranian scientists, sites and other establishments have been attacked. On January 28 2023 suicide drones equipped with explosives struck a military facility in Isfahan after nightfall. The site was an advance weapons production facility which was specifically focused through Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). Similarly, in May and June 2022 two scientists, in Yazd and Tehran, died from poison in their food. They were working on missiles and aero plane turbine systems for a military research center. An (Iranian Revolution Guard Corps) IRGC Colonel Hassan Syed was shot at the door step of his houses in Tehran. Apparently, two gunmen on motorcycles open fired while he was sitting in his car.

India is following the example of Israel and it is employing local operators to target elements including pro Khalistani and pro Kashmiri leaders on the soil of Pakistan. In February 2023, one Bashir Ahmad Peer was killed in Rawalpindi. He was declared as a terrorist by India under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for his alleged role in terrorism activities such as provision of logistics in Indian held Kashmir (IHK). He belonged to Babarpura area in IHK (Kupwara District) and was living in Rawalpindi. In May 2023, Paramjit Singh Panjwar was killed close to his home in Johar Town Lahore during early morning walk. He was the leader of pro Khalistan movement and was again eliminated through adopting Israeli assassination strategy on the soil of Pakistan. On September 08 2023, a former Kashmiri freedom fighter was gunned down in a mosque in Azad Jammu & Kashmir. Muhammad Riaz also known as Abu Qasim Kashmiri, was shot four times by an unknown person, riding a motorcycle, and wearing a helmet. Muhammad Riaz originally belonged to Surankot area of IHK. In March 2023, Syed Khalid Raza was shot dead outside of his residence in Gulistan-e-Johar town Karachi. He was working as deputy director at Dar-ul-Aloom Karachi. It was an act of targeted killing, as disclosed by his aides in Jamat-e-Islami. Reportedly, local operators of a sub nationalist organization were hired for this purpose.

All these incidents point towards the new evolving strategy of a hostile intelligence agency similar in technique to that of Israeli intelligence operators but inferior in execution and implementation. The sequence of events also suggest that this method has been rigorously pursued by the hostile intelligence agency since last three years. The practice has picked traction during the current year when a number of such activities were spotted in Pakistan, Afghanistan and now in Canada. These actions may also undermine India’s claim to secure a permanent post in Security Council after it exhibited its distinguishing marks in space and telecommunications sectors. The Indian government has also been criticized recently for its poor human rights record especially against minorities. The Hinduvta ideology has resulted into a systematic persecution of minorities such as Muslims, Sikhs and Christians in India. The latest episode of expulsion of Indian diplomat from Canada may not help India’s aspiration as a responsible, democratic and ethical country among the comity of nations.?