Gurpatwant Pannun: Antony Blinken welcomes India's probe into Khalistani separatist leader's alleged murder attempt plot

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has welcomed the investigation launched by India into the alleged plot to kill Khalistani separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. On Thursday (US local time), Blinken, who was in Israel's capital, Tel Aviv, said India's step is good and appropriate.

"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 travelling with him in Tel Aviv, Israel.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Wednesday had said that it has decided to set up a high-level probe committee to look into the security concerns shared by the US regarding the criminal nexus and the attempt to murder Pannun, who heads the separatist organisation 'Sikhs for Justice' and is based in the US.

"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 past weeks," Blinken added.

Before this, White House spokesperson John Kirby also shared similar sentiments as Blinken. He stressed on the importance of the bilateral relationship between the two countries.

“India remains a strategic partner, and we are going to continue to work to improve and strengthen that strategic partnership with India. At the same time, we take this very seriously. These allegations and this investigation, we take very seriously,” he said during a press briefing.

Kirby acknowledged India's responsiveness to the matter, stating, "We are glad to see that India is also taking it seriously by announcing their own efforts to investigate this. We have been clear that we want to see anybody that's responsible for these alleged crimes to be held properly accountable."

The alleged murder plot

On Wednesday, the US Justice Department charged a 52-year-old Indian national Nikhil Gupta for his role in the alleged murder plot against Khalistani leader Pannun.

A week back, the Financial Times reported that the US had foiled a plot to kill Pannun and then "issued a warning" to India over concerns that New Delhi was "involved in the plot" to eliminate Pannun.

A press release issued by the US Justice Department said that earlier this year, "an Indian government employee, working together with others, including Gupta, in India and elsewhere, directed a plot to assassinate on US soil an attorney and political activist who is a US citizen of Indian-origin residing in New York City".

The document further stated that the Indian government agency employee has variously described himself as a “Senior Field Officer” with responsibilities in “Security Management” and “Intelligence".

According to US officials, Gupta had agreed to pay $100,000 to an assassin to carry out the killing, with an advance payment of $15,000 already made on June 9, 2023.

However, the individual he contacted for the hitman turned out to be a confidential source working with US law enforcement.

India's stand

On Thursday, the Ministry of External Affairs reacted to the alleged charges against India and said it is "a matter of concern and also contrary to the government policy".

MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi on Thursday said: "As we have said earlier, during the course of discussion with the US on the bilateral security cooperation, the US side shared some inputs pertaining to the nexus between organised criminals, gun runners and terrorists. We take such inputs very seriously and a high-level enquiry committee has been established to look into all aspects of the matter. Necessary follow-up action will be taken on the findings of the committee. We cannot share any further information regarding such security matters."

Also read: India to probe US concerns linking it to foiled attempt to murder separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun

Also read: 'Matter of concern': MEA reacts to US linking Indian official to murder plot