On 6th July 2023, United Kingdom’s Foreign Secretary James Cleverly stated that the UK will not tolerate any direct attacks on the Indian High Commission in London. The MP from Braintree town of UK said that he has clarified this with Vikram Doraiswami who is the High Commissioner for India in the United Kingdom.
James Cleverly tweeted, “Any direct attacks on the Indian High Commission in London are completely unacceptable. We have made clear to Vikram Doraiswami and the Government of India that the safety of staff at the High Commission is paramount.”
This statement from the foreign secretary of the UK has come days after Khalistanis carried out an arson attack on the Indian consulate in San Francisco city of United States. This attack took place on Sunday, 2nd July 2023.
As per reports, the extremists set the building on fire between 1:30 am and 2:30 am on Sunday. However, the damage was limited and the staffers escaped unharmed.
The fire was quickly doused by the San Francisco fire department. The local, State and federal authorities were also notified about the incident. A video of the incident has now gone viral on social media.
It is notable that, on 3rd June 2023, the External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar said that India has urged its partner countries like Canada, the United States, the UK, and Australia not to give space to the Khalistanis. He added, “This will affect our relations. We will raise this poster issue with the government of these countries.”
Earlier this year, on 19th March 2023, pro-Khalistani elements had barged into the Indian High Commission in London and they had removed the tricolour from the premises. Amidst chants of ‘Khalistan Zindabad’, a man sporting an orange turban was seen scaling the walls of the building and pulling down the Indian flag. He then waved the Khalistani flag jubilantly while Indian officials at the building seized the tricolour from the man. Some of the Khalistanis were also spotted holding a poster of Amritpal Singh.
New Delhi immediately took cognizance of the matter and summoned the British High Commissioner. Following the attack on the Indian High Commission and the visible lack of effort by British law enforcement agencies to stop the wrongdoing, the Ministry of External Affairs issued a strongly worded statement. The statement read “An explanation was demanded for the complete absence of British security that allowed these elements to enter the High Commission premises. India finds unacceptable the indifference of the UK Government to the security of Indian diplomatic premises and personnel in the UK”
Besides, hundreds of Sikhs gathered outside the British High Commission in New Delhi on 20th March 2023 waving Indian Flags and chanting slogans like Bharat Mata Ki Jai. The protests outside the British High Commission were seen by many Indians as the commensurate answer to the British indifference to the attack on Indian High Commission in London.