Indian agents involved in killing of two citizens on Pakistani soil: Foreign Secretary Syrus Qazi

Indian agents were involved in the killing of two citizens on Pakistani soil, Foreign Secretary Syrus Qazi said on Thursday.

Addressing a presser in Islamabad, the Foreign Secretary said that Pakistan has “credible evidence” for Indian agents’ link to the killings of two of its citizens on Pakistani soil exposing the “sophisticated and sinister” Indian campaign of extra-territorial and extra-judicial killings.

“These are killings-for-hire cases involving a sophisticated international set-up spread over multiple jurisdictions,” Foreign Secretary Syrus Qazi added.

Foreign Secretary Syrus Qazi said that the information being provided today was for two cases, the assassinations of two people namely, Shahid Latif and Muhammad Riaz, while a few other similar cases are currently under investigation, which will be revealed in due course.

Qazi went on to add that India’s reckless and irresponsible act calls into question its reliability as a credible international player and its claims for enhanced global responsibilities.

Providing details Foreign Secretary said that the Indian agents used technology and safe havens on foreign soil to commit assassinations in Pakistan.

“They recruited, financed and supported criminals, terrorists and unsuspecting civilians to play defined roles in these assassinations,” he added.

Foreign Secretary Qazi blasted Indian media and social media accounts for their quick claims and glorification of the said killings as “successful retribution against enemies of India” and projecting their capacity to carry out these illegal acts.

“Potential assassins were recruited, using social media, talent spotters and fake Da’esh accounts,” he added.

He said that there was complete compartmentalisation of the various components of the operation with the employment of teams of financiers, locators, and assassins.

“Elaborate exit plans were developed to obscure all potential tracks,” he added.

Assassination of Shahid Latif

Qazi said that on October 11, 2023, a group of criminals assassinated Latif outside a mosque in the city of Sialkot.

A detailed investigation revealed that an Indian agent, Yogesh Kumar, based in a third country orchestrated the assassination through criminals and terrorists, he added.

Going deeper into the details of the killing, the foreign secretary revealed that Kumar recruited Muhammad Umair, a labourer in that third country to act as a contact with local criminals in Pakistan to trace and assassinate Latif.

The recruited local criminals were able to locate and trace Latif, however, the killers-for-hire were unable to carry out the execution, Qazi added.

“After some failed attempts, Muhammad Umair was personally sent to Pakistan to carry out the assassination. Muhammad Umair organised a team of five target killers which after the first failed attempt on 9 October 2023, succeeded in assassinating Shahid Latif on 11 October 2023.”

The foreign secretary further added that the law enforcement authorities apprehended the target killers, including Umair, based on confessional statements and technical evidence, thwarting their bid to flee Pakistan on October 12, 2023.

Qazi said that all those involved in reconnaissance and killing have been apprehended and are being tried in a court of law.

He added that the FO also had evidence of transactions made in the process linking the entire chain to Indian agent Yogesh Kumar.

Assassination of Muhammad Riaz

Sharing the details of the second extra-territorial killing, Qazi said that another Indian agent was involved in the killing of Pakistani national Muhammad Riaz. As per the foreign secretary, Riaz was assassinated in a mosque in Rawalakot during Fajr prayer on September 8, 2023.

He said that the law enforcement agencies tracked and apprehended the killer, Muhammad Abdullah Ali, on September 15, 2023, while boarding a flight at Jinnah International Airport, Karachi.

“The interrogations revealed that Muhammad Abdullah Ali was recruited and guided by Indian agents Ashok Kumar Anand and Yogesh Kumar. Indian agents utilised the social media app Telegram to recruit Muhammad Abdullah Ali, who was asked to locate Muhammad Riaz,” he said.

He further stated that Ali received payments through the middlemen based in a third country, and he was also provided with weapons and ammunition.

“After a failed attempt on September 7, 2023, Muhammad Abdullah Ali succeeded in killing Muhammad Riaz on September 8, 2023,” he added.

Later, the law enforcement authorities apprehended the killer, his supporters and facilitators from various cities in Pakistan. The case is being tried in a court of law.

Qazi said that the investigators quickly identified the facilitators inside the country and in the third countries based on confessional statements of Ali and technical evidence.

“We have documentary, financial and forensic evidence of the involvement of the two Indian agents, who masterminded these assassinations. We are releasing the passport details of Yogesh Kumar and Ashok Kumar,” he added.

per the foreign secretary, Pakistan had reached out to the governments of the relevant third countries in this regard.

‘Cases show India’s growing brazenness’

The Foreign Secretary also shared the conclusions drawn from the above-stated information. He added that these cases reveal the growing sophistication and brazenness of Indian-sponsored terrorist acts in Pakistan

He said that the cases fit the pattern of similar cases that have come to light in other countries, including Canada and the United States. This clearly shows that the Indian network of extra-judicial and extra-territorial killings has become a global phenomenon.

“Pakistan has remained a target of extra-judicial killings for some time now. We are now witnessing an increased sophistication in these operations as revealed in these two cases,” he said.

He also called for India’s accountability on an international level for its “blatant violation of international law,” saying that the assassination of citizens on Pakistani soil was not only a violation of the country’s sovereignty but also a breach of the UN Charter.

“This violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty by India is completely unacceptable,” the Foreign Secretary maintained.

He demanded bringing to justice the killers, their facilitators and financers involved in the assassinations of Pakistani nationals and extra-judicial and extra-territorial killings in other countries.

In the concluding remarks, Qazi said that Pakistan remains committed to protecting its people and securing its sovereignty.

“Protection of Pakistanis and any foreign national on Pakistani soil is a high priority for the Government of Pakistan,” he said.

One of these two cases traces back to the Daska mosque shooting of Shahid Latif in October last year, who was an activist of the banned Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM).

Pakistan called out the country involved in the attack as a rogue nation for carrying out terrorist activity right after the incident.