‘Assassination’ plot against Pannun: Will wait to see results of India’s probe, says US

"The US Secretary of State has raised this directly with his foreign counterpart that we take this issue very seriously," a spokesperson said

Khalistani separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun is pictured in his office on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2023, in New York. (AP)

The United States “will wait to see the results” of India’s investigation into the alleged assassination attempt on Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in New York, the US Department of State spokesperson said on Tuesday, adding that they take the matter “very seriously”.

US State Department spokesperson Mathew Miller told reporters that the issue has been discussed at the “most senior levels of this government”. “The Secretary of State has raised this directly with his foreign counterpart that we take this issue very seriously,” he said.

“They told us they would conduct an investigation. They have publicly announced an investigation. And now we’ll wait to see the results of the investigation, but it’s something we take very seriously,” Miller said.

Asked about India’s cooperation in the investigation into the killing of another Khalistani separatist, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, in Canada, Miller said, “We have urged them to cooperate with the Canadian investigation. And number two, with respect to their own investigations… they have said that they will conduct it.”

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“We are looking forward to seeing the results of that investigation, and I’m not going to make any assessments, obviously, before the investigation itself is completed,” he added.

In an earlier communication from the White House, it was confirmed that Principal Deputy National Security Advisor Jonathan Finer had discussed the alleged assassination plot in meetings with top Indian officials during his visit. Finer had met NSA Ajit Doval and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday.

The US has charged an Indian national, Nikhil Gupta, of working with an unnamed Indian government employee in an alleged plot to kill Pannun. Taking note of the allegations, the Ministry of External Affairs said that India has launched a high-level probe and that it’s “matter of concern”.

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