Page 68 - Us India Relations

Canada's allegations over Nijjar's killing not part of probe, says govt

New Delhi set up an investigating committee last week after the US alleged that an Indian government agent was involved in the foiled assassination attempt of a Sikh separatist leader in New York

Those behind assassination plot need to be held accountable: US to India

India is a strategic partner for the United States, the White House has said as it urged New Delhi to hold accountable those responsible for the plot to assassinate a separatist Sikh leader, who is an American citizen. India is a strategic partner. We're deepening that strategic partnership. They're a member of the Quad in the Pacific. We participate with them on a range of issues and we want to see that continue unabated. That said, at the same time, we certainly recognise the seriousness of these allegations, National Security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters at a White House news conference here. Kirby was responding to a question on the impact that the alleged plot would have on the bilateral India-US relationship. We want it fully investigated and those responsible to be held properly accountable, he said. It's under active investigation. We've said that we're glad that our Indian counterparts are taking it seriously and doing that. We want those responsible for these ...

Pro-Khalistan separatist Pannun threatens attack on Parliament on Dec 13

In a video, Gurpatwant Singh Pannun featured a poster of Afzal Guru, who was convicted for 2001 Parliament attack, with the caption 'Delhi Banega Khalistan'

It's something we take seriously: US amid indictment of Indian national

They told us they would conduct an investigation. They have publicly announced an investigation and now we'll wait to see the results of the investigation. It's something we take very seriously

Finer acknowledged India's establishment of committee of enquiry: US

US Principal Deputy NSA Jonathan Finer conveyed to New Delhi the importance of holding accountable anyone found responsible in the probe announced by India to investigate an alleged Indian link to a foiled plot to kill a Sikh separatist on American soil. As Finer wrapped up his high-profile visit to India, the White House said Finer "acknowledged" India's establishment of a committee of enquiry to investigate the "lethal plotting" and underlined the need for holding accountable those responsible. "Finer acknowledged India's establishment of a committee of enquiry to investigate lethal plotting in the United States and the importance of holding accountable anyone found responsible," it said in a readout while referring to his meetings in the national capital. Finer also discussed with his Indian interlocutors the plans for a post-conflict Gaza and a "pathway toward a two-state solution", it said. The senior White House official met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, NSA Ajit .

Top Biden security advisor discusses iCET with senior officials in Delhi

A top national security adviser to US President Joe Biden has held talks with senior Indian officials on various bilateral matters, including the US-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) which is a major milestone in their strategic partnership. Principal Deputy National Security Advisor Jonathan Finer's visit to India comes days after American prosecutors linked an Indian official to a man charged with conspiring to assassinate Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on US soil. Finer led a US delegation to New Delhi on December 4 for an intersessional review of the US-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) with Indian Deputy National Security Advisor Vikram Misri. The iCET is a major milestone in the US-India partnership, which is increasingly defined by strategic security and technology cooperation, the White House said in a readout on Monday. In May 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Biden launched iCET to facilitate .

US, Indian CEOs provide updates on advancing bilateral commercial ties

Top CEOs from India and the United States have provided updates on the status of their recommendations on advancing bilateral commercial ties during a meeting co-chaired by Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, an official statement said here. The virtual meeting of the India-US CEO Forum convened by Raimondo and Goyal on November 30 was a follow-up to the March 2023 forum meeting in New Delhi, according to the statement issued on Monday. During the meeting, US and Indian CEOs provided both governments with updates on the status of their recommendations on how to advance US-India commercial ties, it said. They also discussed topics pertinent across sectors, including supply chain resiliency, workforce development, regulatory and standards harmonization, and economic collaboration. Raimondo and Goyal highlighted recent government initiatives that were inspired by the CEOs' recommendations and encouraged the forum members to focus on

India, US have established mature relationship, says US Deputy NSA Finer

The US and India have established a mature relationship that enables both sides to identify opportunities and work through differences, US Principal Deputy NSA Jonathan Finer said on Monday. In an address at a conclave, he said the US and India have a "complicated history" and they have not always been "wholly aligned". Finer said there are many "difficult issues" that remain in the relationship "right up to the present day". At the same time, he said there is a bipartisan view in the US that both countries must seize some important opportunities that the world presents to the two sides, both geopolitically and economically. The senior White House official is on a visit to India that comes days after American prosecutors linked an Indian official to a man charged with conspiring to assassinate Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on US soil. "I think the US and India have a complicated history. We have not always been wholly aligned. We have not always found it easy to work ...

Has the fallout from the Pannun incident really been capped?

Not really, as the turn of events looks like becoming a millstone around the govt's neck as the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee holds a hearing on it

Henry Kissinger: Flawed genius who will be missed more in China than the US

Kissinger acknowledged India's civilisational impulse and remarkable assimilative power while retaining its identity, but he remained in thrall to China

US praises India setting up probe on alleged plot to kill Sikh separatist

The White House on Thursday praised New Delhi for setting up its own investigations on the US allegations that an Indian official was involved in a plot to kill separatist Sikh leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. The unnamed Indian official appeared in an indictment filed by federal prosecutors in a Manhattan court on Wednesday along with an Indian national, who the Department of Justice alleges hired someone in the US to assassinate Pannun, a vocal critic of India and espousing the cause of a separate Khalistan. "These allegations in this investigation, (we) take it very seriously. And we're glad to see that the Indians are too by announcing their own efforts to investigate this. And we've been clear that we want to see anybody that's responsible for these alleged crimes to be held properly accountable," John Kirby, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council in the White House, told reporters at a news conference here. However, this will not have an impac

Ex-State Secy Kissinger advocated strong ties with India under PM Modi

Henry Kissinger, known for his disdain for India's leadership in the 1970s, has died at the age of 100, but the well-known American statesman and former secretary of state has been advocating stronger US-India ties for the last one decade under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Considered the architect of the US-China relationship since the early 70s, Kissinger died at his home in Connecticut on Wednesday. His consulting firm, Kissinger Associates, did not provide a cause of his death. After Modi became the Prime Minister of India in 2014, Kissinger, also the former US National Security Advisor, has been advocating strong ties with India. In fact, many say, over the past few years he has become a great fan of Prime Minister Modi. When Modi was here on an Official State Visit in June this year, Kissinger despite not keeping good health, travelled to Washington to listen to Modi's address at the luncheon at the State Department jointly hosted by Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary

India needs to work with us: Trudeau after US indictment of Indian national

Trudeau said, "The news coming out of the United States further underscores what we've been talking about from the very beginning: which is India needs to take this seriously

Indira, Haksar proved more than a match for Nixon-Kissinger in 1971: Ramesh

As former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger passed away, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Thursday recalled that in 1971 then US President Richard Nixon and Kissinger created huge headaches for India but then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her close aide P N Haksar proved more than a match for them. Kissinger, who dominated foreign policy as the United States extricated itself from Vietnam, died Wednesday. He was 100. In a post on X, Ramesh said, Henry Kissinger has passed away. He was as immensely consequential as he was hugely controversial. In his long and eventful life he has been both celebrated and condemned, Ramesh noted. But there can be no doubt about his sheer intellectual brilliance and awesome charisma, he said. For the last three decades, he positioned himself as a great friend and supporter of India and indeed he was, Ramesh said. But this was not always so and in 1971 especially, President Nixon and he created huge headaches for India and thought they

US charges Indian national in plot to kill Sikh separatist in New York

An Indian national was on Wednesday charged here by federal prosecutors in connection with his participation in a foiled plot to assassinate a Sikh separatist on American soil. Nikhil Gupta, 52, has been charged with murder-for-hire, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, and conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Matthew G. Olsen said. US authorities said Gupta agreed to pay an assassin USD 100,000 to kill the Sikh separatist leader living in New York City. "On or about June 9, 2023, CC-1 and GUPTA arranged for an associate to deliver USD 15,000 in cash to the UC in Manhattan, New York, as an advance payment for the murder," according to the charges. The indictment has not named the US citizen but The Financial Times, citing unnamed sources, last week reported that US authorities thwarted a plot to assassinate banned Sikhs for Justice's Gurpatwant Singh Pannun,

Allegations of plot to kill Sikh extremist in US: India forms probe panel

India has constituted a high-level inquiry committee to probe allegations relating to a conspiracy to kill a Sikh extremist on American soil. The Financial Times, citing unnamed sources, last week reported that US authorities thwarted a plot to assassinate Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, and issued a warning to the Indian government over concerns it was involved in the plot. External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said India constituted a high-level inquiry committee on November 18 to look into all the relevant aspects of the matter. "We have already said that during the course of discussions with the US on bilateral security cooperation, the US side shared some inputs pertaining to nexus between organised criminals, gun runners, terrorists and others," Bagchi said. He was replying to a media query on the matter. "We had also indicated that India takes such inputs seriously since they impinge on our national security interests as well, and relevant departments were already

US sent officials to India to 'press for probe into plot to kill Pannun'

The US sent its two top intelligence officials to India to press for an investigation into an alleged plot to assassinate a Sikh separatist leader on American soil earlier this year and hold to account those responsible, an influential American media outlet reported on Wednesday, citing senior administration officials. According to The Washington Post, federal prosecutors are expected to file a superseding indictment against an Indian national, Nikhil Gupta, in a New York court on Wednesday regarding murder-for-hire plot targeting Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a separatist Khalistani leader who is both a US and Canadian citizen. The report came on a day when India said that it has constituted a high-level enquiry committee to probe allegations relating to a conspiracy to kill the Sikh extremist on American soil. The United States has discovered a plot to assassinate a separatist Sikh leader on the US soil, the Post reported. It added that the issue has been raised by top leadership ...

US offers India air defence version of Stryker armoured fighting vehicles

This is not the first time that the US has made the push for the sale of Stryker systems to India and did that in the last few high-level meetings with Indian establishments

US to launch domestic work visa renewal programme, Indians to benefit most

The United States is set to begin a pilot programme for domestic renewal of certain categories of H-1B visas in December, a step that will benefit a significantly large number of Indian technology professionals, a US official has said. This comes months after the White House announced the plan during the state visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June. In an interview to PTI, Julie Stufft, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Visa Services, said, "In India, the demand (for US visas) is still very high. The wait time of six, eight and 12 months is not what we need and (it is) not indicative of how we view India." "We want to make sure that Indian travellers can get appointments as quickly as possible. One way we are doing that is through the domestic visa renewal programme, which is focused very much on India. We are piloting that," she said. Over a period of three months, beginning December, the State Department will be issuing 20,000 visas to foreign nationals who are alrea

US 'bent backwards' in response to Canada allegations against India: Expert

The Biden administration, because of the significance it attaches to its ties with New Delhi, bent backwards to be very polite in its public responses following the Canadian allegations against India over the killing of one of its citizens, a top American expert on India-US relations has said. I think the US response was actually quite remarkable because Canada is a very close ally, and if it was any other country than India, I think the US response would've been much more vocal and much more strident, Ashley J Tellis, the Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs and a senior fellow at the prestigious Carnegie Endowment for International Peace told PTI in an interview. Tellis was responding to a question on the criticism in India about the US response to the Canadian allegations that they were investigating allegations that the Indian government was involved in the killing of Khalistani separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada. India has dismissed the allegations as "absurd" and "motivated