India Summons Top UK Diplomat after Khalistan Supporters Bring Down Tricolour at Indian High Commission in London

India Lodges Strong Protest with UK

The senior-most UK diplomat in New Delhi was summoned late evening today to convey India’s strong protest at the actions taken by separatist and extremist elements against the Indian High Commission in London earlier in the day.

An explanation was demanded for the complete absence of the British security that allowed these elements to enter the High Commission premises. She was reminded in this regard of the basic obligations of the UK Government under the Vienna Convention.

India finds unacceptable the indifference of the UK Government to the security of Indian diplomatic premises and personnel in the UK.

It is expected that the UK Government would take immediate steps to identify, arrest and prosecute each one of those involved in today’s incident, and put in place stringent measures to prevent the recurrence of such incidents.

New Delhi/ March 19, 2023

Hours after some Pro-Khalistani groups vandalised the Indian High Commission in the UK and replaced the Tricolour with the Khalistani flag, India has summoned the senior-most British diplomat in Delhi.

The Foreign Ministry, in a statement, has demanded an explanation "for the complete absence of the 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," the MEA press release said.

Demanding "immediate steps" from the UK Government, the official press release from the MEA said, "It is expected that the UK Government would take immediate steps to identify, arrest and prosecute each one of those involved in today's incident, and put in place stringent measures to prevent the recurrence of such incidents."

Meanwhile, the British High Commissioner to India, Alex Ellis, also condemned the incident.

"I condemn the disgraceful acts today against the people and premises of the @HCI_London - totally unacceptable," he tweeted.

According to CNN-News18, an MEA spokesperson has informed that the senior-most UK diplomat has been summoned in the wake of the incident, which comes against the backdrop of the Punjab Police declaring Amritpal Singh a fugitive.

The police have also appealed to the public to maintain peace as they continue their search to nab pro-Khalistani activist Amritpal Singh.

The police launched a massive crackdown against Amritpal Singh and his supporters on Saturday, and the state government has ordered the suspension of mobile and SMS services in the territorial jurisdiction of Punjab till March 20 (12:00 hours).