Tulsi Gabbard has met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on her first official visit to Delhi
Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh raised the issue of activities conducted by Sikh separatist organizations in the US as he met Washington’s director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, in New Delhi on Monday. Gabbard also held talks with India’s national security adviser, Ajit Doval, on the sidelines of a gathering for international intelligence officials hosted by the South Asian nation.
During his meeting with Gabbard, Singh expressed India’s concerns over the Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) organization, considered a “terror” group by New Delhi, and asked the US to take strong action against the organization, India Today reported, citing sources.
New Delhi has been urging the US, UK, and Canada to act on its requests regarding pro-Khalistan activists, who demand the creation of a separate state for Sikhs carved out of India’s Punjab region. India’s requests in particular concern SFJ founder Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, a US-based lawyer who is at the center of diplomatic contention between New Delhi and Washington after the Department of Justice accused the Indian government of orchestrating an assassination attempt against Pannun in New York.
The same issue was reportedly raised by Doval during his meeting with Gabbard on Sunday. While the talks were held behind closed doors, the PTI news agency reported that both sides discussed addressing security challenges such as terrorism and threats from emerging technologies. Doval and Gabbard also reportedly discussed ways to strengthen intelligence sharing and cooperation in the security domain.
#WATCH | Delhi: US Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard met Prime Minister Narendra Modi today. The PM presented her with a vase containing Gangajal from the recently concluded Prayagraj Mahakumbh. pic.twitter.com/jJ0OJbggNF
Gabbard also met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday. The two previously held talks in Washington DC in February. During Modi’s visit to the US, President Donald Trump announced the decision to extradite Tahawwur Rana, accused in connection with the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, to India, fulfilling a long-standing demand.
Gabbard is on a two-and-a-half-day trip to India, marking the first high-level visit to the country by a top official from the Trump administration. She will also deliver a keynote address at the Raisina Dialogue, an annual foreign policy event hosted by New Delhi, on Tuesday.
Gabbard stated on Monday that there was an opportunity to strengthen the economic relationship between India and the US amid New Delhi’s concerns over Trump imposing reciprocal tariffs on imports from India.
“There is more potential for strengthening our economic relationship, and I’m glad to see that they’re looking at it in a more positive light than just one that is focused in a negative way when we look at tariffs,” she was quoted by Hindustan Times as saying. She added that both Trump and Modi are looking for a “good solution.”
