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'We Encourage Both Sides...': US On Reports Of 'Targeted Killings' By India In Pak

The Ministry of External Affairs had last week dismissed the charges made in a report by the UK daily The Guardian, citing Pakistani evidence, that India carried out targeted killings in Pakistan as "part of a wider strategy to eliminate terrorists living on foreign soil."

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US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller
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Reacting to reports about India carrying out state killings in Pakistan, US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller on Monday refused to comment on the underlying allegations, adding that they "encourage both sides to avoid escalation and find a resolution through dialogue".

The Ministry of External Affairs had last week dismissed the charges made in a report by the UK daily The Guardian, citing Pakistani evidence, that India carried out targeted killings in Pakistan as "part of a wider strategy to eliminate terrorists living on foreign soil."

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Asked about the allegations, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said his government will not interfere in the issue but encourage both sides to avoid escalation.

"So we have been following the media reports about this issue. We don't have any comment on the underlying allegations. But of course, while we're not going to get in the middle of this situation, we encourage both sides to avoid escalation and find a resolution through dialogue," Miller said.

In a response to The Guardian, the India’s Ministry Of External Affairs had denied all the allegations, reiterating an earlier statement that they were “false and malicious anti-India propaganda”.

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The MEA emphasised a previous denial made by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar that targeted killings in other countries were “not the government of India’s policy”.

The Guardian report claimed that the Indian intelligence agency RAW had carried out up to 20 such assassinations since the Pulwama attack of 2019.

The report also quoted an unnamed Indian officers claiming that India had drawn "inspiration from intelligence agencies such as Israel’s the Mossad and Russia’s KGB, which have been linked to extrajudicial killings on foreign soil."

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