US Official Declines to Comment on Biden-Modi Discussion Regarding Murder For Hire Plot Accountability

WASHINGTON: President Biden is set to meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi this Saturday, marking their first encounter since the indictment of Indian agents in a failed murder-for-hire plot targeting a Sikh separatist lawyer in New York.

Amid expectations that the issue of “Transnational Repression” will be on the agenda, a senior official from the National Security Council chose to remain tight-lipped.

The meeting of the Quad Leaders Summit in Wilmington, Delaware, will also include Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of Australia and Prime Minister Kishida Fumio of Japan. This marks President Biden’s first hosting of foreign leaders in Wilmington, underscoring the strategic importance of the Quad alliance.

In a press briefing at the Foreign Press Centers, Dr. Mira Rapp-Hooper, Senior Director of the NSC and Special Assistant to the President, highlighted the summit’s objectives. When pressed on whether the indictment of Indian agents would be discussed, she declined to comment directly, stating, “I don’t have a specific comment for you on any recent indictment. And given that my remit is East Asia and Oceania.”

Regarding the possibility of discussing the issue, Dr. Rapp-Hooper reiterated, “What I can say is that this broader basket of issues has been raised both privately and publicly, including at very high levels, and we continue to discuss it.”

Responding to questions about the agenda behind closed doors, she mentioned, “Quad leaders generally have wide-ranging strategic discussions. I can say that this year they certainly plan to focus on each neighborhood in the region. So I know there will be in-depth discussion about South Asia, and I would expect Bangladesh to come up in the context of those discussions.”