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India slams pro-Khalistan Pannun's US lawsuit: ‘Unwarranted and unsubstantiated’
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said that it doesn't change India's views about the underlying situation, now that the case has been lodged.
India on Thursday strongly rejected a lawsuit filed by Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in the United States, calling it “unwarranted and unsubstantiated imputations” aimed at the Indian government.
Pannun, an India-designated terrorist and leader of the banned Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) organisation, filed the lawsuit in a US federal district court, accusing the Indian government of orchestrating an assassination attempt against him.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, addressing a press briefing, said the lawsuit does not alter India’s position regarding Pannun or his organization.
“As we’ve said earlier, these are completely unwarranted and unsubstantiated imputations,” Misri said. “Now that this particular case has been lodged, it doesn’t change our views about the underlying situation.”
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Misri went on to highlight Pannun’s background and his links to a group designated as a terrorist organization in India under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). "I would only invite your attention to the person behind this particular case whose antecedents are well known," he said, referring to Pannun.
What Pannun claimed in his lawsuit
The lawsuit comes just days before Modi is set to visit the United States for a high-profile diplomatic engagement. It accuses several Indian officials, including National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and former Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) chief Samant Goel, of involvement in a foiled plot to assassinate Pannun in New York last year, according to a report by The Times of India.
The US Justice Department had previously unsealed an indictment in November against Indian national Nikhil Gupta, accusing him of contracting hitmen to carry out the murder. The hitmen, however, turned out to be undercover US law enforcement agents.
Pannun is now seeking financial compensation in the civil suit, claiming that his life remains under threat. His lawsuit alleges that the plot was orchestrated by top Indian intelligence officials, with approval from Doval and Goel, and that Prime Minister Modi was aware of the operation. The complaint, however, does not name Modi as a defendant, citing his immunity as head of a foreign state.
India has long accused Pannun and his SFJ group of promoting separatist activities aimed at destabilising the country. Misri reiterated that the organization Pannun represents is considered unlawful under Indian law for its involvement in “anti-national and subversive activities aimed at disrupting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India.”
