India on Thursday took strong objection to a security breach during External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s visit to UK and condemned such “provocative activities.” The incident took place in London on Wednesday during an event attended by the minister. A pro-Khalistani protestor attempted to break barricades while some were shouting anti-India slogans. Protestors also tore up the Indian flag.
In a firm reaction, New Delhi said it expects the host government to fully live up to their diplomatic obligations in such cases and deplored the “misuse of democratic freedoms” by those elements.
The incident happened as Jaishankar was leaving the Chatham House after concluding an interactive session at the institute, home to Royal Institute of International Affairs, on Wednesday evening.
The external affairs minister was in London as in the first leg of his six-day visit to the UK and Ireland from Tuesday that is aimed at exploring ways to further boost bilateral cooperation.
“We have seen the footage of a breach of security during the visit of the external affairs minister to the UK,” ministry of external affairs (MEA)spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
“We condemn the provocative activities of this small group of separatists and extremists,” he said. “We deplore the misuse of democratic freedoms by such elements. We expect the host government in such cases to fully live up to their diplomatic obligations,” Jaiswal added.
Videos posted on social media showed a small group of pro-Khalistan protesters holding yellow flags were shouting slogans against India and Jaishankar on the opposite side of the road from Chatham House.
As Jaishankar was about to leave the institute, a tall man was seen attempting to break the police cordon and run towards Jaishankar’s motorcade. The tall and bearded man even tried to block the minister’s motorcade by standing in front of it. The man was swiftly taken away by Metropolitan Police officers.
It was not the first such incident of breach of security by pro-Khalistan elements. In March, 2023, certain pro-Khalistan elements pulled down the Indian flag at the Indian high commission in London, triggering strong reaction from India.
Following the incident, India summoned the senior-most British diplomat in Delhi and demanded an explanation over complete “absence of security” at the mission. India has been asking the UK to take action against pro-Khalistani elements operating from British soil.
Meanwhile, during his UK visit, which will end on March 9, Jaishakar also met UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy. The two leaders spoke on several topics, including political cooperation, education, mobility, people-to-people exchanges and strategic coordination, among others.
During the discussion at Chatham House, the External Affairs Minister faced a question by a Pakistani journalist who claimed the same would make Jaishankar a “little nervous”. The journalist then accused India of “illegally occupying Kashmir”.
Furthermore, the journalist claimed Kashmiris are “up in arms”, alleging India has stationed “one million troops to control seven million Kashmiris” before asking Prime Minister Narendra Modi could utilise his friendship with US President Donald Trump to resolve the long-standing Kashmir issue.
Jaishankar firmly dismissed any third-party intervention and defended India’s approach to handling the Kashmir issue, stating that decisive measures had already been taken to address the matter independently.
“I think the part we are waiting for is the return of the stolen part of Kashmir, which is under an illegal Pakistani occupation. When that’s done, I assure you, Kashmir solved,” the External Affairs Minister said.