'Take Very Seriously': US 'Waiting For Results' As India Probes Pannun 'Murder Plot'

‘take very seriously’: us ‘waiting for results’ as india probes pannun ‘murder plot’

New Delhi: The United States is awaiting results of the probe India is conducting into the killing of Khalistan separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a State Department spokesperson said on Monday.

State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller, answering a question on the issue, told reporters, “When it comes to the State Department, we made clear when these allegations were first made public that it’s something we think India should take very seriously and investigate.

“They opened a committee of inquiry to look into the matter, and that work is ongoing, and we’ll wait to see the results. But we made very clear that it’s something that we take seriously and we think it’s something they should take seriously as well,” he said.

In November, India had formed a high-level committee to probe information shared by the US on the foiled plot to assassinate Pannun, a US national designated terrorist by India.

Pannun is one of the main leaders of the Khalistan movement and the legal advisor and spokesperson for Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), which aims to promote the idea of a separate Sikh state.

The alleged plot to kill Pannun in the US coincided with the June 18 fatal shooting of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey in Canada’s British Columbia province in June last year.

On April 30, the Ministry of External Affairs had dismissed a Washington Post report naming a RAW officer as allegedly involved in a failed attempt to kill Pannun in the US. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had termed the Washington Post report as “unwarranted and unsubstantiated imputations”.

Jaiswal had said that a probe in on by a high-level committee set up by the Indian government to look into “security concerns shared by the US” and that “speculative and irresponsible comments on it are not helpful”.

Meanwhile, Canada arrested three Indians in connection with the killing of another Khalistan separatist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar. Speaking on the same, Miller said, “I would refer you to the Canadian authorities to speak on the details of the investigation there. With respect to the indictment that was returned in the US, I will let the Department of Justice speak on behalf of that in detail.”

“And then the only thing further I would say: when it comes to the State Department, we had made it clear right when these allegations were first made public that it’s something we think India should take very seriously and investigate,” Miller added.