The Biden administration “continues to discuss” the deal for high altitude drones that was introduced throughout Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s go to to Washington in 2023, the U.S. Embassy right here stated, reacting to a report that U.S. lawmakers had positioned a maintain on the deal, linking it to the Pannun case. According to the report in on-line information portal The Wire, members of the U.S. Congress have held up the U.S. authorities’s request for approval forward of its notification of the deal, which was earlier anticipated to be a formality, as a result of their issues over India’s investigation into the alleged assassination plot in opposition to U.S.-Canadian Khalistani separatist chief Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in May 2023.

“We continue to discuss with U.S. Congress the potential sale consistent with standard processes and policies guiding such arm sales decisions,” a U.S. Embassy spokesperson stated on Wednesday, when requested to remark. The response signifies that the Congressional clearance continues to be a work-in-progress and will come by means of, however considerably, it didn’t comprise a denial of the report that a number of U.S. lawmakers had positioned a maintain on the sale.

“As part of the standard process, the State Department routinely engages foreign affairs committees prior to formal notification to address questions from committee staff,” a U.S. Embassy spokesperson added.

The report appeared days after a go to to Delhi by senior U.S. State Department officers, together with Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Donald Lu, and the delegation is known to have raised the necessity for New Delhi to indicate progress within the “high-level” enquiry committee arrange by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on November 18.

The Pannun case, investigated within the U.S. by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) had led to a charge-sheet in opposition to an Indian nationwide, Nikhil Gupta, who allegedly employed a hitman to focus on Khalistani separatists within the U.S. and Canada on the behest of a senior Indian safety official. Mr. Gupta was final believed to be within the Czech Republic, awaiting his extradition to the US.

In December 2023, various U.S. lawmakers spoke out at a Senate committee listening to on ‘Transnational Repression: Authoritarians Targeting Dissenters Abroad’, criticising the Modi authorities over the case, inserting India together with Russia, China, and Iran on the difficulty. Foreign Relations Committee chair Ben Cardin specifically reacted to what he known as “disturbing allegations against an Indian Government official for involvement in planning to assassinate a U.S. citizen in New York who was critical of the Indian government”, and invoked plans for a brand new “International Freedom Protection Act”, to deal with the rising use of “transnational oppression by autocratic and illiberal states”.

Another Senator, Chris Van Hollen, had instructed invoking a provision within the Arms Export Control Act to “prohibit arms transfers to any countries that are, engaged in a consistent pattern of acts of intimidation, or harassment directed against individuals in the United States.” Due to secrecy across the course of, it isn’t to date recognized which U.S. lawmaker(s) raised the objections over the deal for 31 MQ-9B excessive altitude lengthy endurance Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), estimated to price India over $ 3 billion.

It is among the many prime excessive expertise offers at the moment within the pipeline between the 2 international locations, along with the licensed manufacture of the General Electric F-414 jet engines in India by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. While the engine deal has been cleared by the U.S. Congress, the MQ-9B deal continues to be below course of.

As a part of the method, the U.S. Government and Ministry of Defence should finalise the Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA), the place particulars of kit and phrases of the procurement can be negotiated and finalised in accordance with the FMS programme, and the U.S. Congressional approval is required earlier than the deal may be concluded.

The MQ-9B, which is able to considerably enhance the Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities of the Indian Armed Forces, and in addition work in tandem with the U.S.-origin P-8I lengthy vary maritime patrol plane, considerably enhancing the Indian Navy’s surveillance over the Indian Ocean Region. As a part of MQ-9B deal, General Atomics is scheduled to determine a Global Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility in India.