Daily Times

In response to inquiries about American policy towards Khalistan, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller insisted that a “full and fair investigation” should be carried out into the killing of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

In response to a question regarding the official US position on the Khalistan referendum, which was organised by the US-based organisation Sikhs for Justice, Miller said, “Let me take that one back as well.”

The same journalist again questioned the spokesperson during a press conference at the White House about Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a US citizen and another leader of the Khalistani movement, being listed as a most-wanted terrorist by India, as well as his safety in light of his worries about becoming Nijjar’s follow-up target.

“I don’t have any specific comment on that, other than to say, as the Secretary noted in comments he made on Friday, transnational repression would be a concern for us anywhere in the world.”

He continued by saying that the US has frequently made clear its aforementioned policy.

Miller later discussed the murder of Nijjar, which Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau claimed was the result of Indian involvement, casting doubt on the strategies used by the Narendra Modi-led administration to stifle dissent abroad.

“We have noted the allegations by Prime Minister Trudeau and we are quite concerned by them, and they are such concerning allegations that we think there ought to be a full and fair investigation,” the spokesperson said, responding to a question regarding India’s allegation on Canada being a “safe haven of terrorists”.

While Canada, he added, has shared its commitment to ensure a thorough probe, the US also believes the “Indian government should cooperate with it.”

Another query directed towards Miller asked about the impact of the Nijjar episode on US-India relations.

“We are obviously quite concerned about the situation in Canada. We’ve cooperated closely with our Canadian counterparts, and we have urged India to cooperate in that investigation and we’ll continue to do so,” he said.

He maintained that India remains an important partner of the United States.

“We work with them on a number of issues. But of course we — on this matter, we urge them to cooperate with the Canadian investigation,” the spokesperson added.