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Pannun, a Sikh extremist and known to be an American and Canadian citizen, is a leader of the so-called ‘Sikhs for Justice’. (File image/AP)
India is not running any dark operation in any third country, the government sources said. The West is clearly trying to create tough grounds for Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the basis of these false media reports, they added
Recent media reports in major publications about India’s involvement in the so-called attempted killing of top Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in the United States are all false, without any substance, and designed to target the Narendra Modi government, top sources told CNN-News18 on Thursday.
A report by the Washington Post this week alleged Indian involvement in what is thought to be a failed assassination attempt on Pannun and even named a Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) official who it said orchestrated the purported plan.
India is not running any dark operation in any third country, the government sources told CNN-News18.
“They are leaking unverified information to state-funded media organisations, said an official. “Another attempt is to force the US President to take action against India by this Five Eyes Alliance.
External affairs minister (EAM) S Jaishankar last month slammed the Western media over unfair criticism of India, saying that they act as “political players” in the country’s elections.
“I get a lot of noises from the Western press. If they criticise our democracy, it’s not because they lack information, it is because they think they are also political players in our election,” the minister said.
The sources said the West is clearly trying to create tough grounds for Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the basis of these false media reports.
Another issue with the West, they said, is that they don’t want Indian Intelligence to develop and depend on Five Eyes for small pieces of information which is not usable.
They also don’t want a smooth relationship with Sikhs so they don’t vote for the BJP, said the sources.
The Indian government is monitoring Khalistani groups outside India because no action is taken on sharing information with the Five Eyes, officials said.
At an election rally in Gujarat’s Sabarkantha on Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that his government stormed the terrorists’ den to hit them hard instead of sharing dossiers with the neighbouring country.
“Terrorists used to come to India and carry out attacks, the weak government at that time used to send dossiers. Today’s New India does not send dossiers, it gives dose to terrorists,” he said.
The PM underscored that his government has taken an aggressive approach against terror activities. “The headlines in Naya Bharat are: Mission LOC, India punishes Pakistan through surgical strikes,” he said.
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