On a blustery, cold January day in 2011 in Lahore, a CIA contractor and former US Special Forces operative was driving through a busy street when two motorcyclists who allegedly attempted to rob him—or that is what he claimed—were shot and killed by him. In the ensuing chaos, he hit another car, got caught and was promptly charged with murder. You might think this was a minor incident, but Washington didn’t.

Davis was hardly a big fish in the CIA pond, yet the Obama administration threw a diplomatic tantrum generally typical of a superpower. Diplomatic relations and the $2 billion in annual aid to Pakistan were frozen. The US falsely claimed Davis was a diplomat, deserving immunity. Pakistan’s investigation showed he was a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operative and therefore wasn’t covered by diplomatic immunity. Initially, it refused to back down despite the political heat.

In the end, after a 50-day standoff, Davis was whisked back to the US, but not before $2.34 million of blood money exchanged hands, reportedly compensating the victims’ families. He later wrote about this cloak-and-dagger saga in his 2016 book The Contractor: How I Landed in Pakistan’s Deadliest Jail and Then Escaped, revealing how the CIA operates when things get messy.

CIA’s Long Arms

The Raymond Davis affair revealed how deeply the CIA was operating in Pakistan’s backyard, raising public anger about America’s covert meddling in a country it called an “ally” in the war on terror. The Pakistanis felt betrayed by their trusted ally.

This brings us to the present: the CIA, the agency behind countless covert operations all around the world, lectures India on cooperating with Canada over Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s assassination. It’s as if the US forgot it’s been running around the world in the shadows since the CIA’s inception in 1947, toppling governments, orchestrating coups, and assassinating foreign leaders—all in the name of national interest. But let’s not dwell on the hypocrisy or “double standards”, as India’s foreign minister S. Jaishankar put it in a recent interview with NDTV. He didn’t hold back in calling out Canada’s double standards and pointed out how it is quick to gather intel through its diplomats on foreign soil but becomes very protective when it comes to limiting similar activities by diplomats from other nations on its own turf.

Indeed, while Canada plays the victim, it conveniently turns a blind eye to the unchecked privileges its own diplomats enjoy in India. Jaishankar, ever direct, put it plainly: “Double standards is a very mild word for it.” His pointed remark wasn’t just a dig at Canada’s hypocrisy but also an indictment of the wider Western duplicity.

Take the recent case of the US charging former Indian intelligence agent Vikas Yadav with being involved in a plot to assassinate Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in New York. Now, imagine if the tables were turned. Would the US sit quietly? Absolutely not. By now, Washington would have launched a full-scale diplomatic offensive to bring its man home, just like it did in the above-mentioned case of Davis. And if this led to a potential diplomatic row, so be it. The hypocrisy is so obvious.

West’s Unquestioned Hypocrisy

In the murky realm of espionage, agencies like the CIA, Mossad and MI6 have always played by their own rules, causing diplomatic rifts, regime changes and the occasional assassinations. But when the tables turn, if at all, well, it’s all about the rule of law and international cooperation. I do not suggest the Indian spy agency RAW is doing what the likes of CIA, Mossad and MI6 have been doing for decades without being questioned by anyone. The US, for instance, never lectured Israel for Mossad’s countless extraterritorial activities overseas. India is cooperating with the US in the Vikas Yadav case. It wants to cooperate with Canada in its investigation of Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s murder upon receipt of credible evidence.

Jaishankar’s view isn’t just an Indian perspective—countries across the Global South, and even some in the West, are getting increasingly fed up with the blatant foreign policy double standards.

‘Ajax’ To ‘Condor’, CIA’s Myriad Assassination Plots

The US government’s own report on assassination plots involving foreign leaders reveals some shocking truths about the CIA’s covert operations overseas. The report Alleged Assassination Plots Involving Foreign Leaders wasn’t fully declassified and released until July 23, 2002. The report, also known as the Church Committee report, investigated alleged CIA assassination plots against foreign leaders, including Cuba’s Fidel Castro and Congo’s Patrice Lumumba. The report also mentions other foreign leaders who were targeted for assassination, although their names were not disclosed.

Despite the White House’s efforts to bury the report, the Church Committee conducted a thorough investigation into the CIA’s assassination plots. It confirmed the CIA’s involvement in these plots and recommended legislation to prohibit assassinations. The reports also raised important questions about the ethics and legality of targeted killings, which remain relevant today. And yet, the CIA often disregards its rule books and ethical standards.

Some of its notable plots were 

• Operation Ajax (1953): Successfully overthrew Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh, consolidating Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi’s power. This was a joint operation between the CIA and Britain’s MI6. 
• Bay of Pigs Invasion (1961): Failed to overthrow Cuban leader Fidel Castro, resulting in embarrassment to the US and loss of life.
• Operation Condor (1970s-1980s): Supported Latin American dictatorships in eliminating leftist opposition, leading to human rights abuses.

In more recent times, the CIA’s extraterritorial actions in the Middle East, especially during the ‘War on Terror’, have had long-term destabilising effects. US drone strikes, covert actions in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia and operations in Iraq and Afghanistan have sometimes led to increased radicalisation. While these operations are aimed at counterterrorism, the resulting instability often fuels new cycles of violence and anti-American sentiment.

Mossad’s Misdemeanours

Many experts in the West are bracing for a fiery Israeli strike on Iran in response to Tehran’s October 1 missile attack. But here’s the catch—it may not come from the skies at all. Instead of sending jets and missiles, Israel could very well stick to its trusted playbook: cyberattacks or political assassinations. After all, these methods have proven highly effective in the past, often executed with the help of local assets within Iran. So, while everyone waits for a military show of force, Israel might be quietly sharpening its digital knives or preparing for another covert strike that leaves no fingerprints but sends a very loud message.

It is widely believed, and not disputed by Israel, that Mossad has been actively involved in covert operations inside Iran for years, particularly targeting Iran’s nuclear programme. One might recall the cyberattack using the Stuxnet virus, which disrupted uranium enrichment in 2010. In 2018, Mossad is believed to have stolen 55,000 pages of documents and 183 CDs from Iran’s nuclear archives, revealing the country’s nuclear programme details.

However, Mossad’s most high-profile and controversial actions have been the assassinations of Iranian nuclear scientists. These operations are believed to be part of a broader Israeli strategy to delay or dismantle Iran’s nuclear capabilities, which Israel sees as an existential threat. Between 2010 and 2012, at least five Iranian nuclear scientists were assassinated in Tehran in a series of precision attacks that many attributed to Mossad. Israel has not commented on them. The most notable method involved motorcyclists attaching magnetic bombs to the victims’ cars during busy commutes. The victims included Majid Shahriari, a key figure in Iran’s nuclear research, and Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, a prominent scientist at Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility. These killings sent shockwaves through Iran’s scientific community, severely damaging its nuclear programme and provoking outrage from Tehran, which accused Israel and the West of orchestrating the murders.

The Strikes On Iran’s Nuclear Ambitions

The most striking assassination occurred in 2020 when Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, considered the father of Iran’s nuclear weapons programme, was killed in a highly sophisticated operation. Reports suggested the use of a satellite-controlled machine gun to eliminate Fakhrizadeh near Tehran. This assassination was a major blow to Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Mossad’s operations inside Iran demonstrate the agency’s deep penetration into the country and its relentless efforts to undermine Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

Iranian secret agents have also been active against Israel, with the Israeli government successfully foiling Iranian plots to assassinate Israelis in Israel, Cyprus and elsewhere.

MI6 And Its Legacy Spy Network

The United Kingdom, as the original colonial power, practically wrote the book on covert operations. MI6, founded in 1909 as the Empire’s main Secret Intelligence Service, was tasked with protecting British interests worldwide—sometimes by any means necessary. One of its most infamous escapades was its role in the 1953 coup against Iran’s Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh, a man who dared to nationalise Iran’s oil, threatening Britain’s golden pipeline. As mentioned above, the MI6 teamed up with the CIA for Operation Ajax, toppling Mossadegh and reinstalling the Shah, whose authoritarian reign would last until the 1979 revolution.

In more recent times, especially during the early 2000s, MI6 found itself embroiled in another scandal, this time involving Libya. Partnering again with the CIA, MI6 was accused of helping to render Libyan dissidents back to Gaddafi’s regime, where they were tortured. The most prominent case was that of Abdel Hakim Belhaj, an opposition leader kidnapped and sent to Libya allegedly with MI6’s help. After years of legal battles, Belhaj won an apology from Prime Minister Theresa May in 2018.

India’s RAW Power

India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) was established in 1968 as the nation’s primary external intelligence agency. While RAW has gained significant prominence within the global intelligence community, its capabilities still trail behind those of the CIA, Mossad, and MI6. With a reported budget of around $700 million, RAW operates on a fraction of the resources available to the CIA, whose budget hovers between $18-20 billion. Its main mandate is national security, with a sharp focus on counterterrorism—disrupting terror outfits, cutting off funding to extremists, and monitoring state enemies abroad. 

Contrary to popular belief, RAW does not operate with unchecked power. Its operations are governed by strict directives from the Indian government and, at least on paper, must adhere to Indian laws. While RAW plays a crucial role in safeguarding the nation, it is by no means a rogue agency; it works within the limits of its mandate, with each mission requiring government approval.

From the CIA’s colossal resources and Mossad’s precision strikes to MI6’s legacy of colonial espionage and RAW’s rising influence, these agencies navigate the murky waters of international politics and diplomacy. Yet, they remain indispensable tools of statecraft in an increasingly complex world.

(Syed Zubair Ahmed is a London-based senior Indian journalist with three decades of experience with the Western media)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author

The Washington Post claimed that American officials believe that the R&AW’s previous chief Samant Goel had approved an assassination operation against Gurpatwant Singh Pannun (in picture), a Khalistani activist lawyer of U.S. and Canadian nationality. File
| Photo Credit: AP

The story so far: India’s external intelligence agency R&AW (Research and Analysis Wing) was in the spotlight this week, as reports came in from the U.S., Canada, Australia and Pakistan of the alleged targeting and killing of Indian-origin Khalistani separatist operatives around the world, spearheaded by the agency. 

What are the charges?

The charges, that are yet to be proven in court, pertain to a number of investigations in different countries. This week, the U.S.-based Washington Post claimed that American officials believe that the R&AW’s previous chief Samant Goel had approved an assassination operation, that was foiled last year, against Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a Khalistani activist lawyer of U.S. and Canadian nationality on India’s most-wanted UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act) terror list. It also revealed the name of a security official, Vikram Yadav, believed to have been at R&AW at the time, and said U.S. officials had discussed whether to indict him for ordering Indian businessman Nikhil Gupta to hire a hitman for the job. In the indictment filed by the U.S. New York Southern District Attorney’s office last November, message transcripts indicated Mr. Gupta had also enquired about ordering a “hit” on a Khalistani activist in Canada, just days before the killing of Canadian Hardeep Singh Nijjar outside Toronto in June 2023.

On Friday, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police arrested and charged three Indian nationals, all in their twenties, for conspiring in the Nijjar killing, and said they are investigating links to Indian government officials. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s statement indicating a link to Indian agencies, as well as his decision to expel India’s intelligence station chief at its High Commission in Ottawa, had sparked a major clash with New Delhi, leading to a number of diplomatic measures and expulsions of Canadian diplomats as well.

On Tuesday, Australia’s public broadcaster ABC also reported that R&AW operatives had been expelled in 2020 after Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) concluded that they ran a “nest of spies” that carried out espionage activities and surveillance of Khalistani separatists in the country. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry, which has consistently accused R&AW agents of orchestrating a number of extra-judicial killings on its soil, also doubled down on its allegations against India this week. The latest charges have also revived allegations in the U.K. that Indian intelligence agents had trailed and threatened a Khalistani separatist leader Avtar Singh Khanda, who also died in June last year, and was being treated for leukaemia.

How has New Delhi reacted?

The Ministry of External Affairs has consistently held that extra-judicial killings are not “government policy”, and called the Washington Post article “unwarranted and unsubstantiated”. However, two issues cast a cloud over New Delhi’s statements. One, the variance in the government’s responses on U.S., Canada, Australia and Pakistan: silence on Australia; angry denials and punitive measures against Canada; the setting up of a “high level inquiry” into the U.S.’s indictment; and an unabashed acceptance by top leaders that the government has killed terrorists inside Pakistan. “Today, India doesn’t send dossiers. Aaj Bharat ghar mein ghus ke marta hai (Today India kills terrorists in their own homes),” Mr. Modi said at an election rally in Gujarat this week, ostensibly referring to strikes in 2016 and 2019 on Pakistan, but possibly to other operations as well. Secondly, Indian operations against Khalistani sympathisers have a long history. In 2019, A German court handed prison sentences to an Indian couple charged with spying on Khalistani and Kashmiri activists in the country and sending information to a R&AW official.

Indian officials have questioned why the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Australia don’t take action against vocal Khalistani activists like Pannun and Nijjar themselves, who are accused of inciting attacks on diplomatic missions and threatening Indian diplomats in those countries. They cite a similar refusal by the Canadian government in the 1980s, to act against Khalistani activist Talwinder Singh Parmar, which allowed him to orchestrate the bombing of an Air India plane ‘Kanishka’ in 1985, one of the worst such terror attacks in which 329 were killed. Parmar was killed during a visit back to India in 1992 in a gunfight with Punjab police.

Will there be a diplomatic fallout?

With the exception of Pakistan, and now Canada, India’s ties with the countries where such operations have allegedly been carried out remain strong. Ties with Canada had seen a brief détente in the past decade but historically, no Indian Prime Minister has made a bilateral visit there since 1973, mainly due to tensions over the Khalistan issue. The issue of Pakistan’s support to cross-border terrorism in Jammu & Kashmir and Punjab has led to a nearly-irreversible break in bilateral ties. 

However, it is clear that countries like the U.S., the U.K. and Australia are keen to keep ties on an even keel, while they complete investigations and urge India to do the same. As a result, leaders in those countries have barely referred to the cases publicly, unlike Mr. Trudeau. On a number of occasions, including this week, the U.S. White House and State department have issued statements on the Pannun case. “We continue to expect accountability from the Government of India based on the results of the Indian inquiry committee’s work, and we are regularly working with them and enquiring for additional updates,” Principal Deputy Spokesperson for the State Department, Vedant Patel, said in response to a question about the Washington Post’s article this week. 

According to sources, more has been said behind the scenes. U.S. officials who have visited New Delhi since the Pannun case hit the headlines are understood to have conveyed the U.S.’s 3-step demand: that New Delhi thoroughly investigate the Pannun case and accept any wrongdoing publicly, that it resolve not to repeat such operations, and thirdly, that it must ensure “legal accountability” in Indian courts for those responsible. Much will also depend in the next few months on the trial process in both the U.S.’s Pannun case and the Canadian Nijjar case, and how many new credible leads are provided to prove Indian involvement in them. At present, Mr. Gupta is in the Czech Republic, pending an appeal against his extradition, but his testimony is expected to be crucial in the investigations.

India is certainly not the only country to be accused of carrying out extra-judicial, extra-territorial attacks, and the U.S., Israel etc. cite the UN charter on self-defence when carrying out killings of those wanted within their country. In the shadowy world of intelligence agencies, however, more informal rules apply: that such operations must not be executed in friendly countries, that there should be no links between the operatives and diplomatic missions, and finally, that they don’t get caught.

A member of United Hindu Front organisation holds a banner depicting Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, believed to be based in Canada and designated as a Khalistani terrorist,, during a rally in New Delhi. File photo
| Photo Credit: AFP

A day after The Washington Post named an Indian official for allegedly plotting to eliminate Sikh separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the External Affairs Ministry on April 30 said the report made “unwarranted and unsubstantiated” imputations on a serious matter.

The newspaper, citing unnamed sources, named a Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) officer in connection with the alleged plot to assassinate Pannun.

ALSO READ | India summons Canadian diplomat after pro-Khalistan slogans raised in Trudeau’s event

“The report in question makes unwarranted and unsubstantiated imputations on a serious matter,” External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.

“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,” he said.

Mr. Jaiswal was responding to media queries on the report.

“Speculative and irresponsible comments on it are not helpful,” Mr. Jaiswal said.

In November last year, US federal prosecutors charged Indian national Nikhil Gupta with working with an Indian government employee in the foiled plot to kill Pannun, a Sikh extremist on American soil.

Pannun, wanted in India on terror charges, holds dual citizenship of the US and Canada.

On December 7, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said in Parliament that India instituted an inquiry committee to look into the inputs received from the U.S. in the case as the matter has a bearing on national security.

New Delhi:

The foreign ministry has denied allegations in a report by the UK daily The Guardian that accuses India of conducting targeted killings in Pakistan to eliminate terrorists. The ministry has called it “false and malicious anti-India propaganda” and quoted foreign minister S Jaishankar, who had said targeted killings in other countries were “not the government of India’s policy”.

The ministry’s denial was mentioned in the report by The Guardian, which claims that Delhi “has implemented a policy of targeting those it considers hostile to India”.

Claiming that upto 20 such assassinations were carried out by the Indian intelligence agency RAW since the Pulwama attack of 2019, the report mentions that it is based on evidence supplied by Pakistan and interviews with intelligence officials from both sides of the border.

Quoting an un-named Indian official, The Guardian reported that India had drawn inspiration from Israeli intelligence agency Mossad and Russia’s KGB — which have been linked to extrajudicial killings on foreign soil — and the killing of Saudi journalist and dissident Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

The report said Pakistani authorities have produced documents about some of the killings, which could not be independently verified. It said Pakistani officials also claimed that the killings were orchestrated by sleeper cells of Indian intelligence established in the UAE.

Earlier, US and Canada had accused India of being involved in assassinations and such attempts on foreign soil.

In September last year, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had claimed that there were “credible allegations” of Indian involvement in the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar. A Canadian citizen and a wanted terrorist in India, Nijjar was shot outside a gurdwara in Surrey in June. India had rejected the allegation as “absurd”.

Later, the US had claimed that they had foiled an attempt to kill another Khalistani separatist, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.

The US claimed Pannun, an American-Canadian citizen, was the subject of an assassination bid orchestrated by Nikhil Gupta, an Indian national, and an un-named Indian government official.

India said it is examining US inputs on the “nexus between organized criminals, gun runners, terrorists and others” amid the US allegations.

“India takes such inputs seriously since it impinges on our own national security interests as well. Issues in the context of US inputs are already being examined by relevant departments,” former foreign ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi had said.

Later, India had told the US that its investigation has found the involvement of a rogue official, reported Bloomberg. Quoting un-named intelligence officials, the report said that the person was no longer working with the agency.