The U.S. government said it has questioned Indian authorities about allegations of a foiled assassination attempt against an American-Canadian citizen and expects anyone found responsible to be “held accountable.”
National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said in a statement that the U.S. government was “treating the issue with the utmost seriousness” and raised it with the “highest” levels of the Indian government.
She was responding to a Financial Times report that claimed US authorities had foiled a plot to assassinate Sikhs for Justice Attorney General Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil, raising concerns that the Indian government was involved.
Pannun, a dual citizen, is an organizer of a number of Sikh separatist votes in Canada and the United States.
Watson said in a statement that Indian officials expressed “surprise and concern” and told Americans that such activities were not their policy.
The Indian High Commission in Ottawa did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
Pannun was in British Columbia as recently as late October when a Sikh gurdwara hosted the second round of a non-binding vote on the creation of Khalistan – an independent Sikh state within India.
Gurdwara leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot dead outside the temple in June, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in September there were “credible allegations” linking the killing to the Indian government.
SEE ALSO: ‘Credible’ intelligence links Indian government to death of British Columbia Sikh leader: Trudeau
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 22, 2023.
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