India on Thursday staunchly raked up the issue of threats received by Indian diplomats in the United Kingdom by extremist groups in London and asserted it wants assurance of security from the British government. The latest development came today when Indian top diplomat S Jaishankar met UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Indonesia.
Indian consulate attack
Notably, in March this year, the Indian consulate in London was attacked by Khalistani extremists following the arrest of their leader Amritpal Singh from Punjab. Later on July 8, the Khalistani group threatened Indian diplomats and released posters of a rally in London. The rally is being held in the name of Harjit Singh Nijjar aka Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Khalistani terrorist who was killed in a targeted shooting in Canada's Surrey on June 18. The posters contained threats to the Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami and Shashank Vikram, Consul General of India, Birmingham.
Meanwhile, Cleverly, during a meeting with Jaishankar asserted to provide security to the diplomats and added any direct attacks on the Indian High Commission in London are completely unacceptable. "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," tweeted Cleverly.
After meeting with the British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly on Thursday, Jaishankar took to his Twitter and said, "A broad-ranging discussion today with British Foreign Secretary @JamesCleverly. Spoke about the agenda of the ARF, including regional and global issues. Jointly assessed the progress in our bilateral exchanges. Brought up concerns pertaining to the security of our diplomats."
Jaishankar's visit to Thailand and Indonesia
The External Affairs Minister is on a six-day visit to Indonesia and Thailand since July 12 and his overseas engagements in these two countries will culminate on July 18. In the first leg of his visit, the EAM will reach Indonesia to attend Foreign Ministers’ Meetings under the ASEAN on July 13-14 and then jet off to Thailand for the Foreign Ministers’ Meeting of Mekong Ganga Cooperation (MGC), a release from the Ministry of External Affairs said on Tuesday. Jaishankar is in Jakarta for the Foreign Ministers’ Meetings under the ASEAN framework in the format, ASEAN-India, East Asia Summit and ASEAN Regional Forum on July 13-15.
