India Denies Halting UK Trade Talks Over Sikh Extremists, Says British Media Report 'Baseless'

The External Affairs Ministry on Monday termed as “baseless” a report in Britain’s The Times and denied that India had “disengaged” from trade talks with the UK over alleged failure to condemn the Sikh extremist group that attacked the Indian High Commission in London last month.

The incident occurred on March 19, when protesters with Khalistan banners staged a demonstration at the High Commission and took down an Indian flag from the building’s first floor balcony to denounce recent police action in Punjab.

“Indians don’t want to talk about trade until they get a very public demonstration of condemnation of Khalistan extremism in the UK,” the The Times report had quoted a British government source as saying.

While India denied the report, the UK Department for Business & Trade said both countries remain committed to trade talks. “Both the UK and India are committed to delivering an ambitious and mutually beneficial FTA and concluded the latest round of trade talks last month,” a spokesperson said.

“The Foreign Secretary has condemned the recent acts of violence at the Indian High Commission, and we are working with the Metropolitan Police to review security and make changes to ensure the safety of its staff,” the statement added.

Round 8 of trade talks between the UK and India took place from March 20 to March 31. Sources said the next round of official negotiations is likely to take place from April 24 in London.

India had last month said it expects to see action against the perpetrators of vandalism at its missions abroad and hoped the host governments would prosecute those involved in these incidents instead of holding out assurances. At the weekly briefing on March 24, External Affairs Ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi had also said that New Delhi expects the host governments to take measures to prevent recurrence of such incidents.

Indian missions in London, British Columbia, and San Francisco were vandalised allegedly by pro-Khalistan activists following the police action against radical preacher Amritpal Singh in Punjab.

On March 19, supporters of the Khalistan movement pulled down the Indian flag at the country’s high commission in London and smashed the building’s window in a show of anger against the move to arrest Amritpal Singh, who remains elusive.

India’s External Affairs Minister had denounced the incident and summoned the UK’s deputy high commissioner in New Delhi to protest what it called the breach of security at the embassy in London.

On March 22, police removed temporary security barricades outside the British High Commission in New Delhi, news agency PTI had reported.

The supporters of the Khalistan movement also vandalised the Indian Consulate in San Francisco on March 20.

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