External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday said that the government has launched an inquiry on the inputs it received from the US relating to the nexus of organised crime, trafficking and other matters since they have a bearing on India’s national security.
“Insofar as the US is concerned, certain inputs were given to us as part of our security cooperation with the United States. Those inputs were of concern to us because they (were) related to the nexus of organised crime, trafficking, and other matters,” he told the Rajya Sabha.
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His comments are significant since the US has alleged that an Indian official sought to hire a hit man to kill ‘Khalistan’ supporter Gurpatwant Singh Pannun and impressed upon New Delhi the need to investigate the matter.
When asked why there was no equitable treatment with regard to charges made by the Canadian government, Jaishankar said, “Insofar as Canada is concerned, no specific evidence or inputs were provided to us. So the question of equitable treatment to two countries, one of whom has provided inputs and one of whom has not, does not arise.”
Meanwhile, on Pannun’s recent threat to attack Parliament on or before December 13, MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, “We do take threats seriously. We are caught in a bind here. I don’t want to amplify too much credence to such extremists who make threats and get a lot of coverage. We have taken up this matter with the US and Canadian authorities. Extremists and terrorists tend to seek media coverage on an issue.”
On the threat to Air India, he said, “We would condemn any such threat and our security agencies will take appropriate actions.”
