Amid alleged Pannun murder plot, Indian PM Modi flags activities of overseas 'extremist groups'

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged the activities of 'extremist groups based overseas' while responding to the alleged assassination plot of an India-designated terroristin the United States.

"If someone gives us any information, we would definitely look into it," Modi said in an interview with the Financial Times. "If a citizen of ours has done anything good or bad, we are ready to look into it. Our commitment is to the rule of law."

PM Modi has for the first time responded to allegations of an Indian assassination plot in the US, which the American authorities claim was targeted atGurpatwant Singh Pannun, the general counsel for the separatist group Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) and designated an'individual terrorist' by India'sNational Investigation Agency (NIA).

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Modi said India was "deeply concerned about the activities of certain extremist groups based overseas".

He added: "These elements, under the guise of freedom of expression, have engaged in intimidation and incited violence."

The India-US ties have been describedas "among the most consequential in the world".

However, Modi said: "There is strong bipartisan support for the strengthening of this relationship, which is a clear indicator of a mature and stable partnership."

"Security and counter-terrorism co-operation has been a key component of our partnership," he added. "I don’t think it is appropriate to link a few incidents with diplomatic relations between the two countries."

US President Joe Biden visited New Delhi for the G20 summit in September.

India’s foreign ministry previously announced that New Delhi had set up a high-level committee to investigate the US allegations and would "take necessary follow-up action".

The Pannun assassination plotfollowed a statement in September from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that Ottawa was investigating whether "agents" of New Delhi were behind the June killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh separatist, in British Columbia. India denounced the claim as "absurd".

(With inputs from agencies)