READ HERE: The US State Department stated on Wednesday that the Biden administration has yet to notify the US Congress of its plan to sell 31 MQ-9B Predator armed drones to India under a $3 billion agreement inked last year. The clarification came in response to reports in the Indian media that the deal had been delayed over an alleged Indian plot to assassinate Sikh separatist leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in New York.
The US has held back the deal that was finalized during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington last year, digital media outlet The Wire reported on Wednesday, citing sources. The report claimed that members of the US Congress have frozen the legislative movement needed for the deal to proceed “because of anger over the brazen attempt” to assassinate Pannun. The PTI news agency also reported on Wednesday that “the pace of the negotiations” has slowed down after US federal prosecutors alleged an Indian link in the failed murder plot.