SRINAGAR: National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval stayed in India to manage the security situation related to the ongoing Jammu and Kashmir election and other domestic matters, the Hindu quoted officials as saying.
The officials dismissed claims that Doval’s absence from the US visit was due to a summons from a New York court. The Khalistan issue and accusations from Sikh groups against the government coincided with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s three-day visit to the US
The summons, issued in response to a civil suit filed by Khalistani activist and Sikhs for Justice founder Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, and the introduction of a new Act against ‘Transnational Repression’ that mentions India, along with a meeting between US National Security Council officials and Sikh activists, raised questions about U.S. intentions, diplomats noted.
The Ministry of External Affairs had described the suit as “unwarranted” and driven by an “anti-national” element, after summons were issued for Doval, former Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) chief Samant Goyal, security official Vikram Yadav, and businessman Nikhil Gupta, who is being held by the US Department of Justice in a Brooklyn jail. The government is conducting an investigation into the allegations related to an assassination plot against Pannun, according to Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri.
Government sources referenced previous U.S. court summonses filed by Pannun against former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, and former Minister Kamal Nath regarding the 1984 Sikh riots, as well as against Modi over the 2002 Gujarat violence. In all cases, the US State Department invoked immunity for the officials and dignitaries involved.