India on Thursday strongly condemned the heckling of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar by Khalistani extremists in London, saying it “deplores the misuse of democratic freedoms by such elements”.
India on Thursday strongly condemned the heckling of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar by Khalistani extremists in London, saying it “deplores the misuse of democratic freedoms by such elements”.
In a statement, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India expects the host government to live up to its diplomatic obligations.
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“We have seen the footage of a breach of security during the visit of EAM to the UK. We condemn the provocative activities of this small group of separatists and extremists. 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,” he said.
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Hours later, the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) spokesperson said, “We strongly condemn the incident that took place outside Chatham House yesterday during the External Affairs Minister’s visit to the UK. While the UK upholds the right to peaceful protest, any attempts to intimidate, threaten, or disrupt public events are completely unacceptable.”
The UK said the Metropolitan Police acted swiftly to address the situation, and London remains fully committed to ensuring the security of all diplomatic visitors, in line with the nation’s international obligations.
The statements from the two countries came after Jaishankar was heckled by Khalistani extremists on Wednesday when he was leaving Chatham House after attending an exclusive event.
In a purported video of the incident that is doing rounds on social media, pro-Khalistani protestors are seen heckling the external affairs minister. One of the protestors comes in front of the minister’s convoy and tears an Indian flag before being taken away by the police.
On the other side of the road, several protesters holding pro-Khalistani flags shouted slogans against India.
According to reports, the man was briefly detained by the local police. No harm was caused to the Indian minister in the incident.
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