US Looking To See Results Of India’s Investigation, Taking Plot To Kill Case Seriously
WASHINGTON, DC (IANS and ANI) – US Senator and Chair of the Foreign Relations Committee Ben Cardin on November 30 said that the US Justice Department’s indictment of an Indian national for his alleged involvement in a failed assassination plot was disturbing and that he will be chairing a Senate hearing on the issue.
Cardin noted, “We are witnessing an alarming rise in transnational repression globally, where governments are dispatching assassins and kidnappers or using international criminal networks to abduct, harass, intimidate, and harm dissidents, journalists, and other individuals – far beyond their borders.”
Earlier, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the Indian government’s decision to investigate the matter was “good and appropriate” and added that the US looked forward to seeing the results.
“About India, first, this is an ongoing legal matter. So you’ll understand I can’t comment on it in detail. I can say that this is something we take very seriously. A number of us have raised this directly with the Indian Government in the past weeks. The government announced today that it was conducting an investigation, and that’s good and appropriate, and we look forward to seeing the results,” Blinken told reporters in Tel Aviv.
The White House said that while it continues to strengthen its strategic partnership with India, it takes the allegations that an Indian was involved in a foiled bid to kill a Sikh separatist leader on its soil “very seriously”.
The response came closely after New Delhi reacted to the US indictment of an Indian individual in a plot-to-kill charge, and said it is a “matter of concern” and also “contrary to the government policy”.
“I would just say two things. India remains a strategic partner and we’re going to continue to work to improve and strengthen that strategic partnership with India. At the same time, we take this very seriously,” John Kirby, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council in the White House, said in response to a question at a news conference.
Welcoming India’s efforts to investigate the matter, Kirby also said that the recent developments will not impact the India-US relationship.
“These allegations in this investigation, (we) take it very seriously. And we’re glad to see that the Indians are announcing their efforts to investigate this. And we’ve been clear that we want to see anybody that’s responsible for these alleged crimes to be held properly accountable,” he said, adding that it will not impact the India-US relationship.
India constituted a high-level Enquiry Committee to look into all the relevant aspects of the matter and said it would take necessary follow-up action based on the findings of the Committee.
PAmin
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“I have a right to kill a terrorist anywhere in the world but no state has a right to do same on my soil. I can protect my terrorist on my soil under the name of freedom of speech but others cannot do it. I have right to kill a prominent but innocent scientist to thwart progress of any country but nobody can touch a criminal on my land. I must interfere elections any country at my will and convenience but others cannot do the same in my country election. I can oppose and punish any country to stop the perceived discrimination but no one should even talk about me. I am allowed to preach but not expected to practice. What a freedom I have!!!!!!
December 1, 2023Anil
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Kill them and rejoice openly like USA did when Osama was killed.
December 1, 2023Anil
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India should do a complete investigation. Talk to all involved in India that interfaced with Gupta and conclude:
“Investigation inconclusive. Investigation and interviews with the terrorist and his associates, and all Americans and Canadians involved is needed for any further investigation”
December 1, 2023Anil
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This is a good time to
December 1, 20231) put the Ambassadors from US and Canada on the plane and tell them to only return with the Indians who left India as Indian citizens and with evidence of a crime committed by any and all Indians.
2) ask all US and Canadian diplomats to cease any and all activities beyond diplomatic duties or they will be arrested and tried.
3) Stop all military activities with NATO that involve Canadians or where Canadians share information. Canada cannot be trusted to share information with India’s enemies.
Pradeep Srivastava
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I understand that Pannun is considered a terrorist in India but not in the US. In the US, being a US citizen, he gets the protection from the US government. This is what makes the case confusing, confounding, and complex.
I am not a Sikh, therefore, I don’t have any bias for or against the Sikh Separatism. Pannun, the target, is a New York-based lawyer and general counsel for Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), a group founded in the U.S. in 2007 that calls for an independent Sikh homeland called “Khalistan” in the northwestern Indian state of Punjab. In 2020, New Delhi listed Pannun as a terrorist and issued an arrest warrant against him for “challenging India’s security by financing violence and issuing appeals to Punjab-based gangsters and youth to fight for Khalistan.”
Pannun says his work is motivated by one goal: “I wanted to pursue the right of the Sikh community to self-determination,” he tells TIME in an exclusive interview in a detailed article in time.com, dated November 27, 2023, titled, “Exclusive: Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on Sikh Separatism and Being the Target of a Foiled AssassinationExclusive: Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on Sikh Separatism and Being the Target of a Foiled Assassination”
Of special interest are the following excerpts from the article:
“Though the separatist movement dates back to India’s independence from British colonial rule in 1947, its bloodiest episode occurred in 1984, when then-Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi launched “Operation Blue Star”to evict separatists from their base inside the Golden Temple, the holiest shrine for Sikhs. The violent counterinsurgency led to thousands of Sikh civilians being killed and left a “collective wound in the psyche of the Sikhs,” writes historian Ramachandra Guha in India After Gandhi. Gandhi was assassinated at her home by her Sikh bodyguards a few months later, which spurred the Indian army to launch more operations against Sikh militants in Punjab between 1986 and 1988.
These events prompted Pannun, who was born in Amritsar, to do “human rights advocacy” on behalf of Sikh victims and survivors, he says. After moving to the U.S. in the late 90s for a master’s degree, he worked for Merrill Lynch on Wall Street before training to be a lawyer. “I have seen how the Indian government wanted to eliminate civil disobedience during Operation Blue Star,” he tells TIME, “so I decided I was going to use international laws to hold individuals hese h events prompted Pannun, who was born in Amritsar, to do “human rights advocacy” on behalf of Sikh victims and survivors, he says. After moving to the U.S. in the late 90s for a master’s degree, he worked for Merrill Lynch on Wall Street before training to be a lawyer. “I have seen how the Indian government wanted to eliminate civil disobedience during Operation Blue Star,” he tells TIME, “so I decided I was going to use international laws to hold individuals accountable.”
The call for a Sikh homeland would predominantly affect Sikhs in Punjab, who make up less than 2% of India’s population. Though the movement has little support in India today—in the latest state election, the only remaining pro-Khalistan party secured less than 3% of the vote—the demand has persisted among the Sikh diaspora. Pannun is currently organizing a symbolic referendum for independence through SFJ, which was labeled an “unlawful association” by India for its secessionist activities in 2019.
Allegations of India’s possible involvement in the foiled assassination plot come as revived calls for Sikh separatism have sparked new fears of violence. Pannun was charged with terrorism and conspiracy in November after he posted a video on social media where he was perceived to be issuing a threat to passengers flying on flag carrier Air India.”
What reasons might the Indian government have for being involved in a plot to assassinate you?
We have never been given an opportunity to present our case just because India has labeled us as terrorists. They were able to successfully kill hundreds of thousands of Sikhs in Punjab in the name of counter-insurgency. There are reports from Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the U.S. Department of State in 1994, and other agencies about what transpired between 1984 to 1995. But we haven’t had a peaceful and democratic resolution to the contentious issue that has never been asked since 1950: should Punjab be an independent country? Should the people of Punjab, after going through the genocidal violence, still want to be associated with the Union of India? It was never asked of the people of Punjab in 1947, nor has it ever been put up on a ballot. We are going to open this question up through the Khalistan referendum voter registration in Punjab on Jan. 26, 2024.
So they cannot afford for me to be alive as I have achieved a narrative. I’m able to educate, and peacefully and democratically challenge India’s narrative of terror and terrorism. The people of Punjab have a right to self-determination. They have the right to their economic resources which are being plundered by India. And nobody has done it in the past.”
So, it seems Pannun claims that the Government of India is acting as a terrorist against folks who support the Khalistani movement.
December 2, 2023My question is: Who is telling the truth? I would like to believe that Government of India is telling the truth. But it’s possible that we may never find the truth unless there is a thorough and unbiased investigation of the Pannun case.