Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the first time addressed the recent allegations of Indian involvement in the foiled assassination plot on American soil.
In an interview with the Financial Times, the Prime Minister acknowledged the accusations and conveyed his commitment to investigating any evidence presented. Despite the seriousness of the matter, the Prime Minister emphasized that a "few incidents" would not impact the partnership between the United States and India.
During the interview, Modi downplayed the diplomatic impact of a recent US indictment that claimed an Indian official directed the attempted murder of Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a Sikh separatist and general counsel for the group Sikhs for Justice.
Maintaining that India was committed to the “rule of law”, the PM was quoted as saying during the interview, “If someone gives us any information, we would definitely look into it. If a citizen of ours has done anything good or bad, we are ready to look into it. Our commitment is to the rule of law.”
Regarding the broader issue of Sikh separatism, Modi expressed India's deep concern about certain extremist groups based overseas. He highlighted the activities of these groups, accusing them of using freedom of expression as a guise for intimidation and incitement of violence.
PM Modi highlighted in the interview how Pannun had been designated a terrorist in 2020 and criticized western countries for not taking Indian security concerns seriously.
Whilst this, Modi emphasized the maturity and stability of India-US relationship. He refused to link the incidents to the broader diplomatic relations between the two countries, pointing out the recent high-level meetings between officials of both sides.
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