Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has urged Tulsi Gabbard, the US Director of National Intelligence, to classify Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), a pro-Khalistan separatist group, as a terrorist organisation, sources told The Indian Express on Monday. During his meeting with Gabbard, Singh highlighted SFJ’s alleged connections with terrorist organisations and Pakistan’s intelligence agency, ISI, according to sources.

Gabbard later met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.  Modi shared a post on X, stating, “Glad to welcome @TulsiGabbard to India. Exchanged views on further advancing the India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership. Both countries are committed to combating terrorism and enhancing maritime and cyber security cooperation.”

The discussions are essential as Gabbard also participated in a high-level intelligence conference on Sunday, hosted by India’s NSA Ajit Doval, along with R&AW chief Ravi Sinha and IB director Tapan Deka. The event was attended by key intelligence figures, including Canada’s CSIS chief Daniel Rogers, the UK’s National Security Advisor Jonathan Powell, and New Zealand’s intelligence head Andrew Hampton, all members of the Five Eyes alliance, which includes the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Although Australia’s intelligence chief, Andrew Shearer, could not attend, a senior Australian intelligence official was present.

The request to specify SFJ as a terror organisation comes at a sensitive time, as India faces allegations in a US court regarding an alleged assassination plot against SFJ leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun. Additionally, Canadian authorities are investigating the killing of Khalistan separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada. Intelligence related to the Nijjar case was reportedly shared among Five Eyes partners. India has vehemently denied involvement in Nijjar’s death, dismissing the allegations as “absurd” and “politically motivated.” This development adds a complex layer to Indo-US relations under the Trump 2.0 administration.

The Ministry of Home Affairs banned the SFJ under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act on July 10, 2019, while Pannun was officially designated as an “individual terrorist” on July 1, 2020. Following their meeting on Monday, Singh shared a post on X, stating, “Happy to have met the US Director of National Intelligence Ms @TulsiGabbard in New Delhi. We discussed a wide range of issues which include defence and information sharing, aiming to further deepen the India-US partnership.”

An official statement from the Ministry of Defence described the meeting as “productive.” Referring to the Joint Statement issued after the recent discussions between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump, the statement noted that “the discussions reaffirmed the growing strength of the India-US bilateral defence partnership.” “Both… emphasised that strategic security remains a vital pillar of the comprehensive global strategic cooperation between the two nations. Shri Rajnath Singh and Ms Tulsi Gabbard reviewed the significant strides made in the areas of military exercises, strategic cooperation, integration of defence industrial supply chains and information-sharing cooperation, especially in the maritime domain, between India and the US,” it said.

It stated they “explored avenues for collaboration in cutting-edge defence innovation and niche technologies, reflecting their shared commitment to advancing mutual strategic interests. Additionally, they addressed key areas such as enhancing interoperability and fostering greater integration of defence industrial supply chains to bolster resilience and innovation”. Singh voiced “gratitude to the US Director of National Intelligence for her steadfast goodwill and admiration for Indian culture and heritage, noting that such sentiments deepen the bonds of friendship between India and US”.

In an interview with ANI, Gabbard reaffirmed Trump’s dedication to combating the “threat of Islamist terrorism,” emphasising that it “continues to pose a direct threat to the American people.” When asked about the Trump administration’s stance on repeated terror attacks on India originating from Pakistan, Gabbard stated, “President Trump, through his first administration in the Presidency, and it continues now, has been very clear about his commitment to defeating this threat of Islamist terrorism that has unfortunately plagued us, and continues to pose a direct threat to the American people.”

“But we see how it has been impacting people here in India, in Bangladesh, currently ongoing in Syria, Israel and different countries in the Middle East. So this is a threat that I know Prime Minister Modi also takes seriously and one where the leaders of our two countries will work together to try to identify and defeat that threat,” she conveyed. She affirmed her dedication to making sure that the US intelligence community remains “focused on its core mission of securing” the country. She emphasised the importance of “seeking out the truth and reporting the truth” to ensure that President Trump “can make the best-informed decisions.”