India rejects Washington Post report on "Hit Team" In US

India on Tuesday rejected a report published in the US daily Washington Post claiming that the Indian intelligence agency had hired a hit team to kill US based Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. A ministry of external affairs spokesman termed the report as "unwarranted and unsubstantiated".

The report claimed that the US intelligence agencies have assessed that the operation to kill Pannun was approved by Samant Goel, the then chief of India's spy agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).

"The report in question makes unwarranted and unsubstantiated imputations on a serious matter," Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a statement. "There is an ongoing investigation of the high-level committee set up by the government of India to look into the security concerns shared by the US government on networks of organised criminals, terrorists, and others," Jaiswal said.

"Speculative and irresponsible comments on it are not helpful," he said.

India has in recent times indicated it will pursue terrorists even if they escape to other countries. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has said India will enter Pakistan to kill anyone who escapes over the border after trying to carry out terrorist activities in the country.

Singh's comments came on April 5 after Britain's Guardian newspaper published a report alleging the Indian government killed 20 people in Pakistan since 2020 as part of a broader plan to eliminate terrorists living on foreign soil.

"If they run away to Pakistan, we will enter Pakistan to kill them," Mr Singh had said. "India always wants to maintain good relations with its neighbouring countries... But if anyone shows India the angry eyes again and again, comes to India and tries to promote terrorist activities, we will not spare them," Singh said.