India on Friday asked the United Kingdom to take strong action against alleged Khalistan supporters who threatened top Indian diplomats recently during talks here between National Security Advisor(NSA)Ajit Doval and his British counterpart Tim Barrow.

India raised the  demand to either deport or legal prosecution in view of the threat issued by  the Khalistani backers to take out a ‘Kill India’ rally to the Indian High Commission in London on July 8. The tweets announcing the rally featured images of High Commissioner Vkiram Doraiswami and India’s consul general in Birmingham, Shashank Vikram.

In this backdrop, Doval urged his British counterpart to take strong public action such as deportation against extremist elements threatening officers of Indian High Commission in the UK, official sources said. Doval raised the issue during his wide-ranging talks with Barrow, who is currently on a visit to India.

The two NSAs held one-on-one talks followed by delegation level dialogue.

“The Indian side raised the issue of the extremist elements in the UK threatening individual officers of the Indian High Commission and urged the UK government to take strong public action against these elements such as deportation or legal prosecution,” said a source.

Both sides also agreed to work closely to counter terrorism and terror financing. The two NSAs also resolved to deepen mutually beneficial bilateral collaboration in critical and emerging technologies.

Pro-Khalistan groups have issued posters inciting violence against senior Indian diplomats in the UK as well as in the US, Canada and Australia. India has already asked all these countries to ensure safety and security of Indian diplomats and its missions.

On Thursday, UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said “any direct attacks on the Indian High Commission in London are completely unacceptable.” Cleverly also said “We have made clear to @VDoraiswami and the Government of India that safety of staff at High Commission is paramount.”

He was referring to India’s High Commissioner to London, Vikram Doraiswami.

British High commissioner to New Delhi, Alex Ellis, quoted Cleverly’s tweet and posted: “To amplify the importance which @FCDOGovUK attaches to the safety and security of friends and colleagues, and their premises, at @HCI_London.”

The Khalistan supporters on March 19 had tried to vandalise the Indian High Commission in London and tried to grab the Indian tri-colour.

Several accounts on Twitter began posting about the rally this week, saying the rally was meant to “challenge [the] #Indian hand” in the killing of Khalistani separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a designated terrorist, in Canada last month.

This development came days after the Khalistani backers vandalised the Indian consulate in San Francisco and tried to set on fire the premises.

The alleged Khalistani supporters also issued threats to Indian diplomats in Canada and put out posters naming them and issuing threats.  Similar threats were given to the Indian diplomats in Australia and the US.

The latest attack on the Indian mission in San Francisco came a little more than three months after Khalistani activists planted flags at the consulate, broke through barricades and used flagpoles to smash windows.

R