The White House on Thursday (Dec 7) urged India to hold accountable the ones behind the alleged plot to assassinate a Sikh separatist leader, which the US claims to have thwarted, calling it a strategic partner for its country.
“India is a strategic partner. We’re deepening that strategic partnership. They’re a member of the Quad in the Pacific. We participate with them on a range of issues and we want to see that continue unabated. That said, at the same time, we certainly recognise the seriousness of these allegations,” National Security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters at a White House news conference.
Kirby’s remarks came on being asked about the impact that the alleged foiled plot would have on the bilateral India-US ties.
“We want it fully investigated and those responsible to be held properly accountable,” he said. “It’s under active investigation. We’ve said that we’re glad that our Indian counterparts are taking it seriously and doing that. We want those responsible for these attacks to be held fully accountable, but I won’t get ahead of an investigation that isn’t complete,” Kirby added.
Earlier, White House deputy national security adviser Jon Finer led a US delegation to India’s capital New Delhi where he discussed forming an investigative panel in order to probe an alleged foiled plot to assassinate Khalistani separatist and leader of the banned Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) outfit Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.
“Mr Finer acknowledged India’s establishment of a Committee of Enquiry to investigate lethal plotting in the United States and the importance of holding accountable anyone found responsible,” the White House said in a statement.
This came after New Delhi reiterated that it would be guided by the results of a high-level panel set up to probe the alleged assassination attempt.
‘Matter of concern’
During a press conference, Arindam Bagchi, spokesperson for India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), called the situation a “matter of concern”.
“The nexus between organised crime, trafficking, gunrunning and extremists at an international level is a serious issue for the law enforcement agencies and organisations to consider and it is for that reason that a high-level inquiry committee has been constituted and we will be guided by its results,” said the MEA spokesperson, in response to the question about the case.
FBI director to visit India amid probe
The US Ambassador, Eric Garcetti during a panel discussion at the Carnegie ‘Global Technology Summit’ held in New Delhi, made a mention of an upcoming visit by the FBI director next week amid a US federal probe into an alleged plot to assassinate Sikh radical leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil.
He said that India was “the number one country she (US Secretary of Treasury Janet Yellen) went to outside the United States. Four times this year. The Secretary of State (Antony Blinken) just came here for the third time. Secretary of Defence (Lloyd Austin) for the second time. The FBI director is here next week.”
(With inputs from agencies)
