In a shocking revelation by a secret report accessed by the Financial Times, it has been learned that the USA has foiled a plot to assassinate Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannu on American soil and issued a warning to India over concerns it was involved in the plot.
This came two months after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged that Canadian security agencies were probing “credible allegations” about a potential link between Indian government agents and the killing of a Canada-based Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Vancouver in June.
“Washington shared details of the Pannu case with a wider group of allies after Trudeau went public with details of the Vancouver killing, the combination of which sparked concern among allies about a possible pattern of behaviour,” the FT report said.
Few allies of the US were informed about the plot following the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian Sikh separatist killed in Vancouver in June.
In September, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had said that there were “credible allegations” linking New Delhi to Nijjar’s killing.
The FT report said that the US protest was issued after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to Washington in June this year. Officials did not say to FT whether the protest to New Delhi led the plotters to abandon their plan, or whether the FBI intervened and foiled a scheme already in motion.
Separate from the diplomatic warning, US federal prosecutors have filed a sealed indictment against at least one alleged perpetrator of the plot in a New York district court, FT said, quoting sources.
“The US justice department is debating whether to unseal the indictment and make the allegations public or wait until Canada finishes its investigation into Nijjar’s murder. Further complicating the case, one person charged in the indictment is believed to have left the US, according to people familiar with the proceedings” the report said.
The US Justice Department and FBI declined to comment to FT.
According to the FT, the National Security Council said the US does “not comment on ongoing law enforcement matters or private diplomatic discussions with our partners”. It added, “Upholding the safety and security of US citizens is paramount”, said the report.
India’s external ministry refused to comment on the development, the report by FT stated.
Who is Pannu?
Pannu is a dual-citizen of the US and Canada and is the leader of the US-based Sikhs for Justice, which has been designated as a terrorist outfit by India. An American and Canadian citizen, Pannun has been trying to revive the movement for an independent ‘Khalistan’.
He has been issuing threats to Indian envoys and most recently warned people from flying on Air India — reminiscent of the Kanishka bombing tragedy which killed more than 300 people, most of them Canadian citizens.
