Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday said the government won't spare terrorists who try to disturb the country's peace and that they would be hunted even if they run back to Pakistan.
Rajnath Singh was reacting to a report in The Guardian that blamed India for carrying out targeted assassinations in Pakistan.
"If any terrorist tries to disturb the country's peace, we will give a befitting reply. If they (terrorists) run back to Pakistan, we will go there and kill them," the Defence Minister told CNN-News18.
"Whatever the Prime Minister has said is absolutely true. India is that powerful and Pakistan is also starting to understand that," he added.
Rajnath Singh's remarks come on the same day India denied The Guardian report, which quoted some unnamed intelligence operatives in India and Pakistan.
Rajnath Singh also said that New Delhi intends to maintain good relations with all its neighbours, adding that India never attacked any country.
"India has never attacked any country or tried to capture their territory. But if anyone threatens India or its peace, they will not be spared," Rajnath Singh said.
Earlier in the day, the Ministry of External Affairs responded to The Guardian over its report, calling the allegations "false and malicious anti-India propaganda".
The government also underlined a previous statement by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, in which he said that targeted killings in other countries were "not the policy of the government of India".
According to The Guardian report, documents shared by some Pakistani investigators indicated India's intelligence agency, RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) allegedly carried out 20 such targeted killings on foreign soil as part of an emboldened approach to national security after the 2019 Pulwama terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir, which killed 40 Indian soldiers.
Published By:
Poorva Joshi
Published On:
Apr 5, 2024
English (US) ·