US State Department on media claims about India’s participation in the Pannun case: “We expect accountability”

Washington: Noting the Washington Post report on India’s role in the abortive attempt to kill Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the United States said on Tuesday (local time) that it will continue to hold the Indian government accountable based on the inquiry committee that New Delhi established to look into the matter. According to a revelation published in The Washington Post, an intelligence official in India had a direct hand in the aborted attempt to kill the designated terrorist.

Based on the findings of the Indian investigation committee’s work, we continue to hold the Government of India accountable, and we are in constant contact with them to request more information. In addition, we will keep bringing up our concerns with the Indian government directly at the highest levels. However, beyond that, I won’t go into additional detail and will instead defer to the Department of Justice,” US State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel said during a press conference.

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The report included other accusations, including the claim that the Indian intelligence official was also responsible for the unrelated murder in Canada last year of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a different designated Khalistani terrorist. Additionally, it claimed that Ajit Doval, the national security advisor, and Samant Goel, the former head of RAW, were among the individuals in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s close circle who were aware of the conspiracy.

What is the report’s assertion?
According to a Washington Post article, an official in India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) espionage division had given the go-ahead for a “hired hit team” to kill the Khalistani insurgent, who had made many threats against India. They also said that “it would be a go-ahead from us” as soon as the would-be killers could verify that Pannun was back home.

According to US espionage services, the RAW head authorized the assassination bid in response to demands to kill Sikh militants abroad. The investigation further said that the RAW officer spent weeks exchanging encrypted communications in order to carry out the assassination of Pannun in collusion with Nikhil Gupta, an Indian citizen. According to the article, the US has avoided retaliatory measures like penalties or the deportation of RAW personnel in order to prevent strained relations with India.

The US media story was disputed on Tuesday by the External Affairs Ministry. While New Delhi is looking into the subject, it labeled the report as “unwarranted and unsubstantiated imputations on a serious matter”. Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal issued a statement saying, “Speculative and irresponsible comments on it are not helpful.”

White House on the planned assassinations in India
On Monday, the White House said that it considered the purported involvement of the Indian intelligence agency in two plans of assassinations in Canada and the US to be a “serious matter”. White House spokesman Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters, “This is a serious matter, and we’re taking that very, very seriously.” “We’re going to continue to raise our concerns.”

“Look, India is a crucial strategic ally of the United States of America. We thus have a big plan in mind to increase our collaboration in a number of sectors. The Indian government has made it very clear to us that they are looking into this matter seriously. And on the basis of that, we want the government to be accountable,” she said.

Recall that in November, US officials claimed that Pannun, a Sikh separatist and dual citizen of the US and Canada, was the target of a plan to kill him, orchestrated by an Indian government official. At the time, India had voiced worries about the connection and distanced itself from the scheme, stating that it would officially look into the US concerns and take “necessary follow-up action” based on the recommendations of a panel that had been established on November 18.

Notably, Sikhs for Justice, an organization that New Delhi designated an “unlawful association” in 2019 due to its participation in extremist activities, has Pannun, one of India’s most wanted terrorists, as its general counsel. India subsequently designated Pannun as an “individual terrorist” in 2020. Given their shared worries about China’s rising influence, India and the Biden administration in the US are trying to forge tighter connections; therefore, both parties must tread carefully on this topic.