'Will Wait For Results Of India's Probe': US On 'Plot To Kill' Sikh Separatist Leader Pannun

US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said that they have taken this issue "very seriously" and would wait for results of India's probe in the case.

Matthew Miller, spokesperson, US State Department

Source : Getty

The United States has said it would wait for the results of India's investigation into an Indian national's 'attempt to kill' Skikh separatist leader Gurpwatwant Singh Pannun on US soil. Addressing reporters in his daily news conference, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said the US takes this issue very seriously and will wait for the outcomes of India's probe into the case. The US Justice Department recently charged an Indian official, Nikhil Gupta, for allegedly plotting to murder Khalistani separatist leader Pannun in the US.

"...I said I wouldn't comment on the underlying substance because it is an ongoing law enforcement matter and it would be inappropriate for me to do so when DOJ (US Department of Justice) is presenting a case in court. I also made clear that we have noted 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. 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. It's something we take very seriously," Miller said.

#WATCH | On the US Justice Department indicting an Indian national in an alleged foiled assassination plot in the US, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller says, "...I said I wouldn't comment on the underlying substance because it is an ongoing law enforcement matter… pic.twitter.com/kTVbe2PZRo

— ANI (@ANI) December 5, 2023

He said the US also urged India to cooperate with Canada's investigation of allegations of Indian involvement in the killing of a Canadian national. 

Notably, India has described the case as a "matter of concern" and asserted that follow-up action would be taken based on the findings of a panel investigating the allegations.

On Tuesday, Jon Finer, the Principal Deputy National Security Advisor of US President Joe Biden, took note of the decision of the Government of India to set up a panel to probe the allegations of an attempt by an Indian official to kill a separatist Sikh leader in the US, stated a White House readout. It said that Finer acknowledged the setting up of a Committee of Enquiry and India's understanding of the importance of holding accountable anyone who is found responsible for the act.