WASHINGTON: Senior U.S. officials met with Sikh advocates on Thursday to discuss threats facing Sikhs in the United States, including a foiled assassination plot against a prominent activist last year, several attendees told Reuters.
The meeting with senior White House and U.S. intelligence officials came two days before President Joe Biden is scheduled to meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The United States has been pressing India to investigate the assassination plot against Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a US-Canadian citizen, while continuing its own criminal investigation into India's possible involvement.
Officials briefed a group of Sikh advocates on the government's ongoing talks with India at a closed-door meeting hosted by the National Security Council, according to attendees.
The White House and the Indian embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Biden will hold a one-on-one conversation with Modi on the sidelines of a joint meeting of the United States, India, Japan and Australia on Saturday. India has figured prominently in Washington's stepping up diplomacy to deepen strategic partnerships aimed at countering the influence of China and Russia.
While the US has expressed concern over the Sikh incident, it has so far stressed the importance of the relationship with New Delhi, given shared security interests.
On Thursday, senior U.S. officials sought to reassure the Sikh community that Washington remained committed to protecting Americans from acts of “transnational repression,” a term that refers to efforts by a government to harass, threaten or harm people on foreign soil.
They also provided an update on U.S. law enforcement efforts to educate local police about threats and encourage Sikhs to report any threats or harassment.
“Yesterday, we had the opportunity to thank senior federal government officials for saving the lives of Sikh Americans and for their vigilance in protecting our community,” said Pritpal Singh, founder of the advocacy group American Sikh Caucus Committee, who attended the meeting.
“We are asking them to do more and we will hold them to their promises to do so.”
Last September, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country's intelligence agency was investigating credible allegations that the Modi government was behind the June 2023 killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian Sikh separatist who openly supported the creation of a new, separate Sikh state in northern India called “Khalistan.”
Two months later, the US Justice Department charged Indian national Nikhil Gupta with trying to arrange the murder of Pannun, another prominent Sikh separatist, at the behest of an unnamed Indian intelligence official.
India has denied involvement in both incidents.
Gupta has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial in New York City, while four other Indian nationals in Canada face murder and conspiracy charges in Nijjar's death.
This week, Pannun filed a civil suit against India for allegedly attempting to assassinate him.
Following Nijjar's killing, Reuters reported that the FBI and Royal Canadian Mounted Police privately warned at least seven Sikh activists that their lives could be in grave danger, including Pritpal Singh.
Since then, many Sikh activists in the United States and Canada, including some elected officials, have said they continue to face threats and harassment.
