US Religious Freedom Panel Recommends Sanctions Against India's RAW: Report
Since 2023, tensions escalated between India and the US over allegations that India targeted Sikh separatists in the US and Canada.
The US Commission on International Religious Freedom has called for targeted sanctions against India’s external intelligence agency, Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), over its alleged involvement in assassination plots against Sikh separatists.
In its annual report released on Tuesday, the commission also claimed that the treatment of minorities in India is worsening, according to a report by Reuters.
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The panel also urged the US government to designate India as a “country of particular concern" due to violations of religious freedom.
The commission also targeted Vietnam, governed by a communist regime, for allegedly increasing efforts to regulate and control religious affairs. The panel recommended that Vietnam, like India, which Washington seeks to strengthen ties with due to shared concerns about China, be designated as a “country of particular concern."
The Trump administration is unlikely to impose sanctions on the R&AW, as the panel’s recommendations are not binding.
Since 2023, tensions escalated between India and the US over allegations that India targeted Sikh separatists in the US and Canada.
A wrinkle in the India-US ties appeared after Washington charged ex-Indian intelligence officer Vikash Yadav in connection with a foiled assassination plot of pro-Khalistan leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.
“In 2024, religious freedom conditions in India continued to deteriorate as attacks and discrimination against religious minorities continued to rise," the US commission said in the report.
(With inputs from agency)
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