Ignoring Pannun’s Terror Threats, US Senators Target India’s Democracy

American senators have raised questions on India’s "behaviour" as a democracy at the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on ‘Transnational Repression’ in Washington DC on Wednesday.

While American senators raised concerns over the alleged assassination plot against pro-Khalistan separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a designated terrorist under Indian law, they chose not to utter a word against Pannun, who this week threatened to attack the Indian Parliament in retaliation to the plot.

Pannun, a dual US-Canadian citizen, is the counsel of banned terrorist group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), which seeks to carve out a separate Sikh homeland from India’s Punjab state.

In his opening statement at the hearing, the committee chair and Democratic Senator Ben Cardin referred to the “disturbing allegations against an Indian government official” over the alleged role in plotting the assassination of Pannun.

“This follows allegations of India’s involvement in the killing of a Canadian Sikh leader earlier this year. The Modi government had labelled both critics as terrorists,” Cardin said, referring to the killing of another pro-Khalistan designated terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, who was gunned down by unidentified men in a Vancouver suburb in June.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has alleged Indian role in the killing, but New Delhi has refuted Ottawa’s charge and asked it to share proof on the matter.

At the US Senate hearing, ranking member Tim Kaine described the US Justice Department's indictment alleging Indian government official’s role in the allegedly foiled assassination plot against Pannun as “highly, highly disturbing”.

He quoted a media report claiming that India has “so many targets” as something that the American authorities should “pay serious attention to”.

“It is interesting to know that the Indian government's reaction to the prosecution in the United States is somewhat different than to the claim that at least one intelligence official was implicated in the murder in Vancouver suburb,” Paine said.

Khalistan supporters

He claimed that India had “responded in a very negative way” to Trudeau’s charges, adding that New Delhi asked Ottawa to recall 41 diplomats in the wake of the charges by Canada.

New Delhi has maintained that Canada had an “oversized diplomatic presence” in India and the decision had been taken in the interest of “parity” in strength of mutual diplomatic presence. India has also accused Canadian diplomats of “interfering” in its “internal matters”.

“When the news of this prosecution in the US came out, the Indian government suggested that they were at least somewhat concerned, potentially chastened by the story. Their comments have been a little more reasonable,” Paine went on.

“But, we often say that we are the oldest democracy in the world and that India is the largest democracy in the world. This is not the behaviour of a respectable democracy,” the Senator commented.

FBI Director’s Visit to India

Meanwhile, American Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti told a conference in New Delhi on Wednesday evening that Christopher Wray, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is expected to visit India next week.

Wray’s scheduled visit would be the first by an FBI Director to India in nearly 15 years and comes amid growing US pressure on India to hold accountable people involved in the foiled plot against Pannun.

Last week, US Principal Deputy National Security Advsior Jon Finer held wide-ranging consultations with National Security Advsior (NSA) Ajit Doval and Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar among others in New Delhi.

India's Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar gestures as he speaks during a news conference at the media centre for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting in Benaulim on May 5, 2023. (Photo by Punit PARANJPE / AFP)

“Mr. Finer acknowledged India’s establishment of a Committee of Enquiry to investigate lethal plotting in the United States and the importance of holding accountable anyone found responsible,” a White House readout stated.

Pannun Warns of Terrorist Attack Against Indian Parliament

Meanwhile, Pannun has released another video in which he has warned of an attack against the Indian parliament on 13 December, which is the anniversary of a terror attack on the Indian parliament carried out by banned group Jaish-e-Mohammad* (JeM).

The pro-Khalistan terrorist said that his “response” to the foiled assassination plot by India would “shake the foundations of the Indian Parliament”.

On his social media handle, Pannun lauded the comments of the US Senators criticising the Indian democracy.

The radical Sikh has also called a car rally in San Francisco on 9 December aimed at “balkanizing” India.

Last month, Pannun had threatened to blow up an Air India flight, leading to a probe by India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA).

*Jaish-e-Mohammad is designated as terrorist outfits in India and Russia.

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