Russia has dismissed the accusations made by the United States regarding the alleged involvement of Indian officials in the assassination plot against Khalistani separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. Moscow stated that Washington has yet to provide any convincing “evidence” or “credible information” to support these claims.
According to Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, the US was trying to “unbalance the internal political situation” in India and “complicate” the ongoing general elections.
“Washington lacks a simple understanding of India’s national mentality and history, as America continues to make unfounded accusations about religious freedoms. Washington’s actions clearly constitute interference in India’s internal affairs…As for speculations, since there is no evidence, it is not acceptable…They are not respecting India as a state,” Zakharova said during an address.
The Russian official also criticized the US for making “wrongful accusations” against several other nations.
“Hard to imagine a more repressive regime than Washington in international and national affairs,” she added.
Last November, US federal prosecutors accused Indian national Nikhil Gupta of collaborating with an Indian government official in the thwarted plan to assassinate Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. Pannun, who faces terrorism charges in India, holds citizenship in both the US and Canada. The Union home ministry has designated him as a terrorist under the anti-terrorism law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
In the previous month, The Washington Post, relying on undisclosed sources, identified a Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) officer allegedly linked to the plot to assassinate Pannun. The report claimed that the R&AW official, identified as Vikram Yadav, had recruited a “hit team” to execute the operation, identifying Pannun as a “priority” target.
After the report surfaced, India established a high-level committee to probe the allegations.
Earlier this week, the US stated that it is anticipating the outcomes of the Indian investigations into the matter. “They (Indian government) opened a committee of inquiry to look into the matter, and that work is ongoing; we’ll wait to see the results. But we made it very clear that it’s something that we are taking seriously and we think they, too, should take this seriously,” US state department spokesperson Matthew Miller told the media.
In response to The Washington Post’s report regarding the purported assassination scheme targeting Pannun, India vehemently criticized it last month, denouncing it as “unwarranted” and “unsubstantiated.” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, speaking to the media, emphasized that speculative and irresponsible remarks regarding the matter are “not helpful.”