New Delhi: Barely days after the report of an alleged plot to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun surfaced, the Khalistani terrorist in a video threatened to attack the Indian Parliament on or before December 13, a day that marks the 22nd anniversary of the Parliament attack by terrorists in 2001.
Pannun has been the subject of a diplomatic tightwalk between India and the United States which has said it will wait to see the results of the investigation announced by India concerning allegations of the involvement of an Indian official in a plot to assassinate a separatist Sikh leader in the US.
Pannun is the head of US-based Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), which is banned in India and is wanted by the Indian probe agencies. In the video which featured a poster of the 2001 Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru with the caption 'Delhi Banega Khalistan', Pannun gloated over the fact that a conspiracy to kill him by Indian agencies had failed. Pannun went on to declare that he would respond by attacking the Parliament on or before December 13.
Pannun's threat came amid the Winter Session of the Parliament, which began on Monday and will go on till December 22. Following the video, security agencies are on high alert. Sources said security agencies said the K-2 (Kashmir-Khalistan) desk of Pakistan's ISI had asked Pannun to step up his anti-India tirade.
In November, the Financial Times, citing unnamed sources, reported that US authorities foiled a plot to kill Pannun. The US also took up the matter with the Indian government over concerns it was involved in the plot.
The US Justice Department in a press release said earlier, "An Indian government employee, working together with others, including Gupta, in India and elsewhere, directed a plot to assassinate on US soil an attorney and political activist who is a US citizen of Indian-origin residing in New York City".
In response, India expressed concern about one of its government officials being linked to the plot, from which it dissociated itself, as being against government policy. India assured the US to formally investigate the concerns aired by the country, and take "necessary follow-up action" on the findings of a panel set up on November 18.
The United States has said it will wait to see the results of the investigation announced by India concerning allegations of the involvement of an Indian official in a plot to assassinate a separatist Sikh leader in the US.
"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," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters at his daily news conference on Tuesday.
"They have publicly announced an investigation. Now, we will wait to see the results of the investigation...," Miller said in response to a question. American prosecutors have linked an Indian official to a man charged with conspiring to assassinate Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on US soil.
India has described it as a "matter of concern" and asserted that follow-up action will be taken based on the findings of a panel investigating the allegations. The US, Miller said, has also urged India to cooperate with Canada's investigation of allegations of Indian involvement in the killing of a Canadian national.
Read more:
