The discussion with India concerning the accusations of a conspiracy to assassinate a Sikh separatist in the US involving an Indian government official has been described as "productive" and "cordial" due to its confidential nature, as stated by Jake Sullivan, the National Security Advisor to the US president.
Last November, US federal prosecutors charged Nikhil Gupta, an Indian national, for collaborating with an Indian government employee in a thwarted plot to kill Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in New York. Gupta, apprehended in the Czech Republic in June of that year, was subsequently extradited to the US on June 14.
"We have engaged in a constructive dialogue with India regarding this matter. We have clearly conveyed our position and expectations. The discussions have been respectful and effective, largely because they are occurring behind closed doors," Sullivan remarked at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado, responding to inquiries about the allegations surrounding the attempted assassination of Pannun.
India has refuted the accusations but has formed an internal investigative team to examine the matter.
"Approximately a year ago, CIA Director Bill Burns and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines visited India and raised concerns with the Indian government regarding suspicions of their involvement in the assassination attempt of a Sikh activist in Vancouver and a foiled assassination plot in New York targeting another Sikh activist. Have you received satisfactory explanations from India about what occurred or did not occur?" Sullivan was queried.
“We were very transparent about this publicly with the Congress, with others. And obviously, that was a carefully executed plan. I sat down with Bill and Avril. I said we are going to go in the following order and actually talk to the Indians about what our expectations are in light of what we have learned, and we are going to work through until we see an outcome that we think is satisfactory,” Sullivan said.
“I don’t think that there’s a lot of value in talking about the nature of that conversation publicly. It is sensitive. It is something we are working through. The story in my view has not yet been completely written; we need to keep working through it. But we have had a constructive dialogue with India on this issue,” said the US national security advisor.
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