'Issues being examined': India confirms US sharing inputs on organised criminals, terrorists
India said that it takes such inputs very seriously as it impinges upon its own national security interests. The development comes nearly two weeks after the India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue held in New Delhi involving Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
India on Wednesday confirmed that the United States shared some inputs in connection with the nexus between organised criminals, terrorists and others and that those issues have been taken seriously and are being examined.
"During the course of recent discussions on India-US security cooperation, the US side shared some inputs pertaining to the nexus between organized criminals, gun runners, terrorists and others. The inputs are a cause of concern for both countries and they decided to take necessary follow-up action," said Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi.
"On its part, India takes such inputs seriously since it impinges on our own national security interests as well. Issues in the context of US inputs are already being examined by relevant departments," he further said.
According to earlier UK-based reports, the US thwarted a plan to allegedly assassinate Canada-based Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun and informed India of the concerns over the matter.
This comes after the US and India held the 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue on November 10 in the presence of US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken along with Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
Who is Gurpatwant Singh Pannun?
Pannun is one of the prime leaders of the Khalistan movement and has been designated as a terrorist in India. He is the founder of the Khalistani organisation Sikhs for Justice (SFJ)
Recently, Pannun threatened the Indian government and Air India to blow up the flight on November 19. In a short video, Pannun appealed to Sikhs in the world not to travel by Air India from November 19, saying that it can be life-threatening.
This was not the first time he threatened the Indian government to orchestrate a massive attack on India. Earlier last month, he threatened Prime Minister Narendra Modi to learn from the Israel-Palestine war and added a similar "reaction" unravels in India.
After Pannun's latest Air India threat, Canada’s Minister of Transport Pablo Rodriguez said that the Canadian government has taken the threat very seriously and added that security agencies have been investigating the matter.
"Our government takes any threat to aviation extremely seriously. We are investigating recent threats circulating online closely and with our security partners," he said. Besides, Canadian authorities have also assured India that it has already enhanced the security of Air India flights.