• Source:JND
Add as a preferred

Days after the United States federal prosecutors accused an Indian intelligence official of planning an assassination attempt on Khalistani terrorist Gurupatwant Singh Pannun in New York, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday said that India has constituted an inquiry committee to probe the inputs received from the United States (US) as these have a bearing on the country’s national security. 

In response to a supplementary question from CPI(M) MP John Brittas regarding the US charges, Jaishankar said that it was not directly related to the original question in relation to the foreign visits of Union ministers. 

“Insofar as the US is concerned, certain inputs were given to us as part of our security cooperation with the United States. Those inputs were of concern to us because they (were) related to the nexus of organised crime, trafficking and other matters,” Jaishankar said in the Rajya Sabha.

"Because they have a bearing on our national security, it was decided to institute an inquiry into the matter and an inquiry committee has been constituted," he added. 

Jaishankar also emphasised that there was no question of ‘equitable treatment’ of the US and Canada regarding allegations that Indian officials were involved in the targeting of Khalistan separatists in both countries, as one country has provided the inputs and the other has not. 

Last month, the US Justice Department charged an Indian national identified as 52-year-old Nikhil Gupta, for his involvement in an alleged murder plot against Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. In response, India said that the allegations by the US are a "matter of concern" and "contrary to government policy" and also formed a high-level committee to investigate the allegations. 

The diplomatic ties between India and Canada deteriorated after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on September 18 made allegations against New Delhi regarding the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Surrey, British Colombia in June. However, India refuted the allegations as ‘absurd and motivated’.