Washington: The United States on Monday (local time) said that it is waiting to see the results of the Indian investigation into the foiled murder case of Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in New York, asserting that India should take the allegations of its involvement very seriously and investigate. This came after three people were arrested in the murder of another India-designated Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada.
When asked about the cases in Canada and the US, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said, "I would refer you to the Canadian authorities to speak to the details of the investigation there. With respect to the indictment that was returned in the United States, I’ll let the Department of Justice speak on behalf of that in detail. And then the only thing further I’d say: When it comes to the State Department, we made clear when these allegations were first made public that it’s something we think India should take very seriously and investigate."
"They (the Indian government) opened a committee of inquiry to look into the matter, and that work is ongoing, and we’ll wait to see the results. But we made very clear that it’s something that we take seriously and we think it’s something they should take seriously as well," said Miller. The US remarks came after a media report named an Indian intelligence officer allegedly behind the foiled murder plot of Pannun.
Slamming the report, India has strongly rejected the claims, saying that the report made "unwarranted and unsubstantiated" imputations on a serious matter and that an investigation into the case was underway. Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said a high-level inquiry committee set up by New Delhi to look into inputs provided by the US on the alleged plot was still probing the case.
What happened in the Nijjar case?
On Friday, Canadian Police released pictures of three suspects who were arrested in Canada in connection with the murder of an India-designated Khalistani terrorist. The trio who were arrested included Karan Brar, 22, Kamalpreet Singh, 22 and Karanpreet Singh, 28. All of them have been charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in relation to the homicide.
Reacting to the arrests, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who made public allegations of India's involvement in the Nijjar case, said Canada was a "rule-based country" and reassured Sikh Canadians about their safety and well-being in the country. "As the RCMP stated, the investigation remains ongoing, as does a separate and distinct investigation not limited to the involvement of the three people arrested yesterday," he said.
Nijjar, a Canadian citizen, was shot dead by two unidentified men outside a gurdwara in Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18, 2023. “The investigation does not end here. We are aware that there are others out there that played a role in this homicide and we remain dedicated to identifying and arresting each one of them,” Superintendent Mandeep Mooker, Officer in Charge of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) said.
Jaishankar's response to the arrests
Later on Saturday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar reacted to the recent arrests and underscored what is happening in poll-bound Canada over the killing of Khalistan separatists is mostly due to their internal politics and has nothing to do with India. Jaishankar said this while replying to a question on why Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is criticising India.
The ties between India and Canada came under severe strain following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegations in September last year of the "potential" involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Nijjar. India has dismissed Trudeau's charges as "absurd" and "motivated." “Canada did not give any proof. They do not share any evidence with us in certain cases, police agencies also do not cooperate with us. It is their political compulsion in Canada to blame India," noted the Indian foreign minister on Saturday.
Jaishankar said a section of pro-Khalistan people are using Canada’s democracy, creating a lobby and have become a vote bank. The ruling party in Canada has no majority in Parliament and some parties depend on pro-Khalistan leaders, he said. “We have convinced them several times not to give visa, legitimacy or political space to such people which is causing problems for them (Canada), for us and also for our relationship,” Jaishankar added.
(with inputs from agencies)
