NEW DELHI: External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Thursday said in Parliament that India decided to probe the US information about the alleged plot to assassinate Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun because it had a bearing on India’s own security, while reiterating that Canada had shared no such input or evidence about the killing of pro-Khalistan terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar on its soil.
Replying to a question in Rajya Sabha, the minister said there was no question of “equitable treatment” to the allegations made by the US and Canada for the same reason.
“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 said.
“Because they have a bearing on our own national security, it was decided to institute an inquiry into the matter and an inquiry committee has been constituted,” he added.
The minister was also asked why there was no equitable treatment with regard to charges made by the Canadian government. “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 input and one of whom has not, does not arise,” said Jaishankar in response.
The US, however, has pressed India to also join the Canadian probe into the killing of Nijjar, saying Ottawa’s claims about the alleged involvement of Indian agents was informed by intelligence shared among the ‘Five Eyes’ countries.