Pannun murder bid: Antony Blinken welcomes India's probe in alleged murder attempt on Sikh separatist

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Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) informed that it has decided to set up a high-level probe committee to look into the security concerns shared by the US regarding the criminal nexus and the attempt to murder Pannun. While speaking to reporters who were travelling with him in Tel Aviv, Israel, Blinken said, "The government announced today that it was conducting an investigation, and that’s good and appropriate, and we look forward to seeing the results." The Secretary of State was responding to a question on the appearance of an unnamed Indian official in an indictment filed by federal US prosecutors in a Manhattan court on Wednesday along with an Indian national, which the Department of Justice alleges hired someone in the US to assassinate Pannun, a vocal critic of India and espousing the cause of separate Khalistan.

"This is an ongoing legal matter. So you’ll understand I can’t comment on it in detail.

I can say that this is something we take very seriously. A number of us have raised this directly with the Indian Government in past weeks," Blinken added.

Indian had earlier informed that US had shared some inputs pertaining to a "nexus between organized criminals, gun runners, terrorists and others" during the course of recent discussions on India-US security cooperation. The developments comes only weeks after UK-based daily newspaper Financial Times had reported that the US had thwarted an assassination attempt on notorious Khalistani separatist and leader of banned outfit SFJ on American soil.

Pannun is the general counsel of Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), which India labeled an "unlawful association" in 2019, citing its involvement in extremist activities. Pannun was listed as an "individual terrorist" by India in