New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Wednesday that it had constituted a “high-level” inquiry committee on 18 November in connection with the alleged assassination attempt on Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a Sikh separatist and American and Canadian citizen, designated as a terrorist by India.
The development came days after the Indian High Commissioner to Canada, Sanjay Kumar Verma, said Sunday that New Delhi was cooperating with the US in its investigation into the alleged assassination attempt on Pannun.
In a statement it issued Wednesday, the MEA vowed to take action based on the findings of the committee.
“On 18 November 2023, the Government of India constituted a high-level Enquiry Committee to look into all the relevant aspects of the matter. Government of India will take necessary follow-up action based on the findings of the Enquiry Committee,” the statement read.
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, Khalistan. India banned the SFJ in 2019, and Pannun was designated a terrorist in 2020.
The MEA’s statement follows Verma’s interview with Canadian news channel CTV, where he said Indian government was cooperating with the US investigation. However, he added that when it came to Canada’s allegations in the June killing of Sikh extremist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, India needed specific information to seek permission from legal authorities to conduct an investigation.
“The investigation in case of the US as far as I know and understand … is at a much (more) advanced stage, and therefore, I presume, that there would be better information shared with India,” said Verma.
Last week, the Financial Times reported that American authorities had foiled an assassination attempt on Pannun and issued a “diplomatic warning” to New Delhi over concerns it was involved in the plot.
The report further claimed that US federal prosecutors had filed a sealed indictment — a formal accusation filed in court, the contents of which had not been made public — against at least one alleged perpetrator of the assassination attempt. It also said the US Justice Department was deciding whether to make the indictment public or wait until Canada finishes its probe into Nijjar’s killing.
Nijjar, chief of the pro-Khalistan outfit Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF), and a wanted, designated terrorist in India, was shot dead by two unidentified assailants outside a gurdwara in Surrey, Canada. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau claimed in September that his government was investigating “credible allegations” of a “potential link” between agents of the government of India and the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
India has termed the allegations “absurd and politically motivated”.
‘Inputs are a cause of concern for both countries’
On 22 November — hours after the FT report was published — the MEA said in a statement that it had received “some inputs” from the US during “recent discussions” on security matters.
This came a week after a 2+2 Dialogue was held between Indian and American defence and foreign ministers in New Delhi, during which the Indian side flagged its concerns over increasing activities of Sikh extremist elements in Canada.
In a video message issued earlier this month, Pannun had warned Sikhs against flying Air India on 19 November — the birth anniversary of former prime minister Indira Gandhi, who was assassinated in the aftermath of Operation Blue Star at the Golden Temple in 1984. The Indian Army operation had been carried out to flush out Sikh militants from their hideout inside the Golden Temple complex.
In its 22 November statement, the MEA said that these inputs pertained to a “nexus” between organised criminals, terrorists, and others, but did not specify where. Neither that statement nor the latest one, Wednesday, makes any mention of Pannun.
“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 MEA’s statement on 22 November said. “The inputs are a cause of concern for both countries and they decided to take necessary follow-up action.”
It further said that on its part, India takes such inputs seriously “since it impinges on our own national security interests as well”.
The statement added: “Issues in the context of US inputs are already being examined by relevant departments.”