US satisfied so far with India Sikh plot probe, but stresses ‘red line’

WASHINGTON: The US is satisfied so far with India’s moves to ensure accountability in alleged assassination plots against Sikh activists, but many steps are still needed, the US ambassador to India said on Thursday, calling it a “red line for America” for which there must be consequences.

Eric Garcetti was asked at a US think tank event what effect the recent discovery of assassination plots against Sikh nationalists in Canada and the United States could have on Washington’s relations with New Delhi.

“When I was referring to a relationship that might have bumps along the road, this would be potentially the first big fight in a relationship,” he told the Council on Foreign Relations.

“So far, knock on wood, I would say the administration is satisfied with the accountability that we’ve demanded on this, because this is a red line for America, for our citizens, and a core part of what we need to do,” he added.

Garcetti said a criminal case and indictment had been brought “and if there is any connection to state actors in that, there has to be accountability.”

“We expect that not only from our side, but we expect India to have that accountability.”

Garcetti noted that India had set up a commission of inquiry “and ... we expect while we do the criminal case that is about American justice, that there need to be consequences and shared information.

In November, US authorities said an Indian government official had directed the plot in the attempted murder of Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a Sikh separatist and dual citizen of the United States and Canada.