Pakistan has ‘credible evidence’ of India links to killings of 2 Pakistanis

Pakistan says the method of the killings was similar to cases in Canada and the United States.

Pakistan says it has “credible evidence” that links Indian agents to the killings of two Pakistani citizens on Pakistani soil.

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

Qazi identified the two men killed as Shahid Latif and Muhammad Riaz, who were shot dead in separate incidents last year.

Riaz was killed during morning prayers in a mosque in Rawalakot in Pakistan-administered Kashmir in September, he said.

Latif was killed outside a mosque in the city of Sialkot in Punjab in October.

Qazi said the method of the killings was similar to cases in Canada and the United States.

Last year, Canada and the US separately accused Indian agents of being linked to one assassination and one attempt in their countries.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs rejected the allegations, which it described as “false and malicious” in a post on X.

Our response to media queries regarding remarks made by Pakistan Foreign Ministry:https://t.co/25zIoMs1QI pic.twitter.com/1E2rt1tSTw

— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) January 25, 2024

Last year, tensions between Canada and India rose significantly after the killing of a Sikh separatist on Canadian soil.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau publicly linked Indian intelligence agencies to the death of Canadian citizen Hardeep Singh Nijjar, an allegation that New Delhi called “absurd”.

Nijjar, an advocate for a separate Sikh state in India, was wanted by Indian authorities for alleged “terrorism” and conspiracy to commit murder.

In the US, an Indian national was charged with