Following allegations by the United States of a foiled assassination plot against pro-Khalistan radical and India-designated terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, the Russian Foreign Ministry questioned the lack of reliable evidence provided by Washington implicating Indian citizens in the case.
It further said that the unfounded accusations are done to “unbalance the internal political situation in India in order to complicate the general parliamentary elections taking place in the country”.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said at a briefing on Wednesday (local time) that, based on the information available, Washington has failed to present credible evidence of Indian citizens’ involvement in the alleged plot to murder Pannun.
“According to the information we have, Washington has not yet provided any reliable evidence of the involvement of Indian citizens in the preparation of the murder of a certain GS Pannun. Speculation on this topic in the absence of evidence is unacceptable,” Zakharova said, as quoted by ANI.
She further accused Washington of disrespecting India as a sovereign state.
Zakharova’s remarks came in response to queries regarding Moscow’s stance on accusations against an Indian official in connection with the foiled assassination plot, as well as an investigative report by ‘The Washington Post’.
“‘The Washington Post’, it seems to me, should use the term “repressive regime” and everything you quoted in relation to Washington. It is difficult to imagine a more repressive regime than Washington, both in domestic and international affairs,” Zakharova said.
She also criticised the United States for its recurrent baseless accusations against India and other nations regarding religious freedoms, attributing these accusations to a lack of understanding of India’s history and culture.
“Regular unfounded accusations by the United States against New Delhi (we see that they groundlessly accuse not only India but also many other states) of violating religious freedoms are a reflection of the United States’ misunderstanding of the national mentality, the historical context of the development of the Indian state and disrespect for India as a state . I am sure that this also comes from the neocolonial mentality, the mentality of the colonial period, the period of the slave trade, and imperialism,” she said.
“This does not only apply to India. The reason is the desire to unbalance the internal political situation in India in order to complicate the general parliamentary elections taking place in the country. Of course, this is part of interference in India’s internal affairs,” she added.
Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, an India-designated terrorist holding American and Canadian citizenship, was allegedly targeted in the foiled assassination plot. The Indian External Affairs Ministry had earlier rejected reports linking an Indian Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) official to the alleged plot as “unwarranted and unsubstantiated.”
Meanwhile, India has constituted a high-level inquiry on November 18 last year to probe the matter.