US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti, likened charges of attempting to assassinate Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun as the potential ‘first big fight in a relationship’ in terms of US-India relations. Garcetti said that the US is satisfied with the accountability it has demanded from India over the charges but clarified that there are many more steps in the process.
At an event organised by the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), a think tank in the US, Garcetti said, "When I was referring to a relationship that might have bumps along the road, this would be potentially the first big fight in a relationship.”
He said so far the Biden administration is satisfied with the accountability demanded on this because “it is a red line for America”.
Garcetti said that there is a criminal case and an indictment that’s been brought in connection with the Pannun case. “And if there is any connection to State actors in that, there has to be accountability. We expect that not only from our side, but we expect India to have that accountability," he said in a discussion with Michael Froman, the former US Trade Representative under the Obama Administration.
India has brought in a commission of inquiry, he said, and the criminal case is ongoing in the US. He said there needs to be consequences and shared information. "So far, one of the most difficult things you can do as an ambassador in diplomacy, I have been satisfied with what they have done. I think the administration is, but we have many steps still to go," Garcetti said.
Garcetti’s statements come after The Washington Post identified a Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) officer, Vikram Yadav, who had reportedly hired Nikhil Gupta to assassinate Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. The operation was allegedly approved by RAW chief Samant Goel, the report stated.
India has refuted all the claims and called them "unwarranted and unsubstantiated imputation on a serious matter" under investigation.