New Delhi: Indian officials expressed “surprise and concern” when the US informed them of the plot to assassinate Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, and asserted that “activity of this nature was not their policy”, the White House Said Wednesday.
“We are treating this issue with utmost seriousness, and it has been raised by the U.S. government with the Indian government, including at the senior-most levels,” said White House spokesperson Adrienne Watson Wednesday to Reuters.
“They stated that activity of this nature was not their policy … We understand the Indian government is further investigating this issue and will have more to say about it in the coming days. We have conveyed our expectation that anyone deemed responsible should be held accountable,” Watson added.
The Financial Times reported Wednesday that the US government had thwarted a plot to assassinate Pannun — a US and Canadian dual citizen. The report did not mention when the alleged plot took place.
The British daily also reported that the US government has issued a “diplomatic warning” to the Indian government over the plot and that US federal prosecutors have filed a sealed indictment (formal accusation filed in court and not made to the public) against at least one alleged perpetrator in a New York district court.
News of the indictment comes two months after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that they were investigating “credible allegations” of a potential link between agents of the Indian government and the killing of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on 18 June in Surrey, British Columbia.
Pannun is the founder of the banned Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), a US-based group that has repeatedly called for a “referendum” for an independent Sikh state of ‘Khalistan’. India banned SFJ in 2019 and designated Pannun a terrorist in 2020.
Pannun on NIA radar
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) filed a case against Pannun Tuesday for his alleged attempt to “target and disrupt the transportation sector in India” by urging Sikhs not to fly Air India.
In a video message earlier in November, Pannun asked Sikhs not to take Air India flights on 19 November — the birth anniversary of the former Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi and on the day of the 2023 Cricket World Cup final.
The video triggered memories of one of the worst aviation tragedies in history — the bombing of Air India Flight 182 on 23 June 1985, which was enroute from Canada to India. All 329 passengers on board were killed in the attack orchestrated by Sikh separatists.
Pannun however told Reuters his message was to “boycott” Air India and not to bomb the airline.
‘Received inputs on crime nexus’
In a statement Wednesday, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that certain inputs pertaining to the “nexus between organised criminals, gun runners, terrorists and others” were being examined by the relevant departments.
“During the course of recent discussions on India-US security cooperation, the US side shared some inputs pertaining to nexus between organised criminals, gun runners, terrorists and others. The inputs are a cause of concern for both countries and they decided to take necessary follow-up action,” Bagchi said.
“On its part, 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,” he added.
The statement made no mention of Pannun.
Edited by Tikli Basu.
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