The Indian government has declared Pannu a terrorist.
Washington:
India is taking seriously allegations of a conspiracy to kill Sikh separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannu in America. The White House provided the information but did not comment on the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigation and the criminal case filed by the Justice Department in the matter. White House Press Secretary Karen Jean-Pierre’s comments on Monday came amid an investigative report in the media claiming that a US-based RAW officer named Vikram Yadav was involved in the plot to kill Pannu and that the move was the result of Indian espionage. The then head of the agency, Samant Goyal, gave the nod.
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Pannu is one of the prominent leaders of the Khalistan movement and is the legal advisor and spokesperson of Sikhs for Justice (SFJ). SFJ aims to promote the idea of a separate Sikh nation. The Indian government has declared Pannu a terrorist. When asked about the Washington Post news, Jean-Pierre said an investigation is ongoing and the Justice Department is conducting a criminal investigation.
He said India is an important strategic partner for the US and “we are pursuing an ambitious agenda to expand our cooperation in many areas.” Regarding the inquiry report into the alleged conspiracy to kill Pannu, Jean-Pierre said, “We have discussed this continuously and expressed our views many times, be it in a meeting here with the Prime Minister or in any meeting abroad. He said,” This is a serious matter and we are taking it very seriously.” The Government of India has clearly told us that they are taking this seriously and will look into it.
“We expect accountability from the government based on the investigation,” he said. But we will continue to raise our concerns. This is not going to stop. We will continue to raise our concerns directly with the Government of India.
The alleged plot to kill Pannu in the US coincides with the fatal shooting of Khalistan militant Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, on June 18 last year. According to Western officials, that campaign was also linked to Yadav.
The Washington Post also reported that the two assassination plots have fueled an increase in violence in Pakistan, where at least 11 Sikh or Kashmiri separatists have lived in exile and been declared terrorists by the Narendra Modi government in the past two years.
“We have constituted a high-level committee,” India’s External Affairs Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said last week when asked about the probe into the allegations made by the US in the Pannu case. The committee is looking at information shared with us by the US as it affects our national security equally.
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