New Delhi: Continuing to spotlight the removal of the national flag from the Indian high commission in the UK, external affairs minister S. Jaishankar claimed that the British government had not met its obligations for the security of diplomatic missions, even as the ministry of external affairs stated that it wants “action” and not just assurances.
Last Sunday, a group of Pro-Khalistan protestors took down the Indian flag, which triggered a furious response in New Delhi. After the UK deputy high commissioner was summoned, the security barriers outside the UK high commission and the UK envoy’s residence were removed. The Metropolitan police arrested one man “on suspicion of violent disorder”.
The attack was condemned by the UK foreign office minister Lord Tariq Ahmed and British high commissioner to India, Alex Ellis. After a heavy police presence at another scheduled protest, the British foreign secretary James Cleverly said the Metropolitan Police was reviewing the security of the Indian high commission and that it took its safety “very seriously”.
At an event of BJP’s youth wing in Bengaluru, external affairs minister S. Jaishanker said that the UK was not meeting the obligation of providing security to Indian diplomats at the mission, which is expected of a country where a high commission or a consulate is located.
”On the flag and the security of the high commission, in this particular case in the UK – whenever any country sends an embassy anywhere abroad, it is the obligation of the receiving country to provide security for a diplomat to do his work. It is the obligation of the receiving country to ensure the embassy or the high commission, or the consulate and their premises are respected. These obligations were not met,” he said on Friday, according to PTI.
He claimed that many countries are “very casual” about security. “Many countries are very casual about it (security). They have a very different view about their own security and a different view about other people’s security, but I can tell you as a foreign minister that we are not going to accept this kind of differential standards,” said the minister.
Meanwhile, in Delhi, the ministry of external affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that words were insufficient. “Let me just say we expect that host governments will take action to identify and prosecute all those involved and also take necessary measures to prevent the recurrence of such incidents. We would hope host governments provide full and adequate protection to our missions as well as to the personnel working there…We are not interested in just assurances, I think we would like to see action”.
On the same day as the incident in London, the windows and doors of the Indian consulate in San Francisco were also damaged by pro-Khalistan protestors. The US charge d’Affaires was summoned to MEA, but security barriers outside the US embassy remained in place.
When asked why India did not take the same action with the US embassy, Bagchi said, “each security situation is assessed on its own merits, and I’m certainly not going to try to link one with the other.”
To another question about Canadian leaders hoping that the situation in Punjab was normalised, Bagchi said that he didn’t want to comment on it specifically, but had a broader observation to make.
“As you are aware, authorities in Punjab are undertaking operations to nab a fugitive. Information regarding that operation is being shared by authorities concerned in Punjab on a regular basis. We would urge people abroad not to be taken in by inaccurate and motivated narratives that are being circulated by some elements on social media,” said the MEA spokesperson.
At the House of Commons on Wednesday., Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau had said that Ottawa was “monitoring” the situation in Punjab and was “looking forward” to a swift return to a more stable situation”, Hindustan Times reported.
He was answering a question from New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh, with the latter being critical of an alleged Indian security crackdown to arrest Waris Punjab De leader Amritpal Singh.