UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has strongly condemned any direct attacks on the Indian High Commission in London, describing them as “completely unacceptable”. This statement comes as Indian diplomatic missions in the US, Australia and Canada are facing threats from apparent pro-Khalistani groups.
“Any direct attacks on the Indian High Commission in London are completely unacceptable. We have made clear to @VDoraiswami and the Government of India that the safety of staff at the High Commission is paramount,” Cleverly tweeted on Thursday.
Posters threatening Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami and Dr Shashank Vikram, the Consul General of India in Birmingham have emerged on social media. Earlier this week, Khalistan supporters reportedly attacked the Indian Consulate in San Francisco. The US government has condemned the incident and termed it as a “criminal offence”.
Responding to the issue, India’s Foreign Minister S Jaishankar asked countries like Canada, the United States, the UK and Australia not to give space to the Khalistanis.
“This will affect our relations. We will raise this poster issue with the government of these countries,” he told media on 03 July.
Earlier, India issued a summons to the Canadian High Commissioner after ‘Kill India’ posters sparked a row. The pro-Khalistan leaders released the poster and invited people to a ‘Khalistan Freedom Rally’ in Canada on July 8. The flyer labelled Indian High Commissioner Sanjay Kumar Verma and Consul General of India in Toronto Apoorva Srivastava as assassins of Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
The incident triggered widespread outrage among the Punjabi diaspora settled in Canada.
