Top US diplomat, Donald Lu, has termed the case of the alleged assassination attempt against Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun a “serious issue” between the two countries and said that Washington is working with New Delhi to hold accountable those responsible. The US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, Donald Lu, was asked about the issue during a US Congressional hearing on the Pakistan election on Wednesday.
The US government has refused to provide “discovery material” after it was asked by a New York court to respond to a motion filed by lawyers of Indian national Nikhil Gupta, named in an alleged plot to assassinate Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.
Foreign policy experts said on Wednesday that the indictment filed by the United States Justice Department against an Indian national for his alleged involvement in a foiled plot to assassinate a US-based leader of the Sikh separatist movement and a citizen in New York, may not affect the strong India-US strategic relationship.
It would not be surprising if as a broader strategy, U.S. federal prosecutors eventually offer Nikhil Gupta, the Indian national charged with plotting to assassinate Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a plea deal in exchange for naming names of others in the Indian government who might be involved.
