A religious freedom watchdog in the United States on Friday (Dec 15) called on the Joe Biden administration to designate India as a ‘country of particular concern’ under the US Religious Freedom Act, citing its alleged targeting of religious minorities overseas. In a statement, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom said that recent efforts by New Delhi to silence activists, journalists, and lawyers abroad posed a serious threat to religious freedom.
“USCIRF implores the US Department of State to designate India a Country of Particular Concern due to India’s systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of freedom of religion or belief,” the statement said.
According to a report by the news agency Reuters, USCIRF’s Commissioner Stephen Schneck called New Delhi’s alleged involvement in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar (a Khalistani terrorist) and plot to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun (another Khalistani terrorist) in the US “deeply troubling.”
Earlier this month, federal prosecutors in Manhattan said an Indian national worked with an unnamed Indian government employee on a plot to assassinate a New York City (NYC) resident who advocated for a sovereign Sikh state in northern India. New Delhi denied any involvement in this plot, Reuters reported.
India concerned about security over Pannun’s threat
On Dec 7, Indian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that New Delhi was worried about the security threat from Pannun to attack the parliament on the anniversary of the 2001 attacks on Dec 13.
“We do take threats seriously, particularly depending on the context of that (threat)…in the specific case on the parliament (threat), we are caught in a bind, here I don’t want to amplify too much credence to search extremists who make threats and get a lot of coverage…but on the other hand we take this seriously and this particular case I know that we have taken up this matter with the US and Canadian authorities about this threat…but as I said, extremists and terrorists have the tendency of wanting media coverage on an issue and I wouldn’t like to dignify them that way,” Bagchi told reporters.
“He (Gurpatwant Singh Pannu) is wanted by our agencies for violation of the law and there is a process under which we seek assistance, we seek that they be prosecuted, it depends on whether the crime is committed,” he added.
Meanwhile, on Dec 13, two men jumped inside the Lok Sabha (parliament’s lower house) from the visitor’s gallery above the chamber and threw smoke cannisters inside the premises. Six people have been arrested in this incident including the mastermind Lalit Jha.
(With inputs from agencies)
