'Speculative And Irresponsible': India Responds To US Media Report On Pannun 'Assassination Plot'

Pannun 'assassination plot': MEA has said The Washington Post report makes 'unwarranted and unsubstantiated imputations on a serious matter'.

MEA has said The Washington Post report makes 'unwarranted and unsubstantiated imputations on a serious matter'. ( Image Source :X/@MEAIndia )

Pannun 'assassination plot': Day after an exclusive investigative report published in the The Washington Post revealed that the alleged assassination plan of Sikh separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a vocal critic of the Indian government, was ordered from within India's Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), India has issued a statement, calling the report "speculative and irresponsible".

In its statement issued Tuesday, the Ministry of External Affairs said there is an ongoing investigation by the "High-Level Committee set up by the Government of India to look into the security concerns shared by the US government on networks of organised criminals, terrorists, and others".

"Speculative and irresponsible comments on it are not helpful," the MEA statement read.

As part of its series, Repression's Long Arm, The Washington Post report revealed what it called the “most explicit evidence to date” about the alleged assassination plot of Pannun, and also named the RAW officer who allegedly ordered the killing.

What did the report say?

According to the Post report, the Indian officer gave instructions to a “hired hit team” to kill Pannun on US soil. The Post claimed the report was based on interviews with more than there dozen current and former senior officials in the US, the UK, Canada, Germany, Australia, and India.

The report revealed the identity of the RAW officer who was allegedly involved in the Pannun's alleged assassination, and also of Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was gunned down in Canada in June 2023.

“The assassination is a ‘priority now’…,” the office reportedly wrote, according to the Post report that quoted current and former US and Indian security officials who did not wish to be named.

The report mentioned that MEA officials did not respond to the Post’s queries in connection with the matter.

In 2020, India declared Pannun, the founder of Sikh For Justice (SFJ), a “designated individual terrorist”. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar was also declared a terrorist by India in June 2023.

The Post report additionally mentioned that the US intelligence officials concluded the Pannun plot was sanctioned by the then RAW chief, which it said was substantiated by the accounts provided by former senior Indian security officials familiar with the operation.

A private meeting took place between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden in New Delhi in September 2023, the report stated, adding that the US conveyed during that meeting it would not take any punitive action but asked India to ensure accountability for those responsible for the alleged assassination plot.