India takes security inputs from US seriously, says MEA on reported foiled plot to kill Pannun

India on Wednesday said it takes inputs on security matters from the US seriously since they impinge on its own national security concerns as well.

The remarks from the Ministry of External Affairs came on a day British daily Financial Times said that the US had thwarted an attempt to kill Sikh extremist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on American soil.

“During the course of recent discussions on India-US security cooperation, the US side shared some inputs pertaining to nexus between organised criminals, gun runners, terrorists and others,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Arindam Bagchi said in response to queries on the British media report.

He said the inputs were a cause of concern for both countries and they decided to take necessary follow-up action.

“On its part, India takes such inputs seriously since it impinges on our own national security interests as well,” Bagchi said.

The spokesman said issues in the context of US inputs are already being examined by relevant departments.

A report by the Financial Times hours earlier said that US federal prosecutors had filed a sealed indictment (formal accusation filed in court, contents not made public) against at least one alleged perpetrator of the assassination attempt against Pannun in a New York district court. The US justice department is contemplating on whether to unseal the indictment and make the allegations public or wait for Canada to finish its investigation into Nijjar’s killing. Pannun is the founder of the banned Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), a US-based group that has repeatedly called for a “referendum” for an independent Sikh state called Khalistan. India banned the SFJ in 2019, and Pannun was designated a terrorist in 2020.