India has halted trade talks with the United Kingdom (UK) over Sikh separatists and has asked Britain to condemn these anti India extremist elements, a report by Bloomberg said on Monday quoting The Times.
India is not expected to resume talks until the UK condemns the Sikh extremist group that attacked the Indian High Commission in London in March, the report added.
Given the reports regarding a pause in trade talks from India’s side, it seems clear New Delhi has taken a tough stand regarding the attack on Indian High Commission in London in March and the delay by the UK government in issuing a statement against it, which too was short of outright condemnation.
The delay in condemnation in clear words from Britain, no arrests so far, no outcome on investigation, has not gone down well with New Delhi, which has taken the attack by anti-India forces very seriously. Indian foreign ministry has raised the issue of security of Indian diplomats and India House too with the UK authorities. Britain police appears to be too slow in investigating the violent incident and has not identified and arrested the culprits, despite India demanding the same a couple of times.
The Times report said, in a bid to bring negotiations back on track, the UK home office is planning to make an announcement in the coming weeks and a crackdown on Sikh extremists
A trade deal with India has been one of the biggest goals for the British government which wants to cut tariffs and open opportunities for the UK’s service sector to expand into the world’s second-largest country.
The relations between the two countries have, however, soured in the past few weeks. First, over a documentary by the BBC on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. And then due to the attacks on the Indian High Commission.
“Both the UK and India are committed to an ambitious and mutually beneficial free trade agreement and finalized the latest round of trade talks last week,” a UK Trade Department spokesman told The Times. “The Foreign Secretary has condemned the recent acts of violence at the Indian High Commission and we are working with the Metropolitan Police on this to review security and make changes to ensure the security of employees.”
Earlier, the UK economics and trade minister Kemi Badenoch said that they expect India and UK to conclude a free trade agreement this year.
See Also: https://indiadiplomacy.in/india-awaits-tough-action-from-uk-against-khalistanis/
