EAM S Jaishankar raises Khalistan issue with leaders in UK

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has raised Indias longstanding concerns about proKhalistan extremism in the UK during his meetings with the countrys leaders stressing that they should be on guard against the misuse of freedom of expression and speechJaishankar concluded his fiveday visit to the UK on Wednesday which he described as timely after a series of crossparty engagements amid substantial progress on the ongoing free trade agreement negotiationsDuring a media interaction at the High Commission of India in London before leaving the minister shared some insights from his discussions with the UK Cabinet ministers and Opposition leaders which covered a whole spectrum of global and bilateral issuesIndias concerns regarding proKhalistan extremism in relation to the safety of its diplomats in the country were among the topics that came up during his meetings with UK Home Secretary James Cleverly and National Security Adviser NSA Tim BarrowWe have longstanding concerns about extremist and sometimes even violent activities of various forces including those who propagate Khalistan said JaishankarWe have been trying to get the government here to understand that while we as a fellow democracy certainly understand the importance of freedom of expression and of speech they should be on guard against the misuse of these freedoms he saidWith reference to the violent protests at India House in March he said the gravity of the situation is sharply recognised and Indias expectation is that its diplomatic mission would be provided requisite protection to conduct their activities in an unrestricted way and there would be a firm stance against the advocacy of violence and extremismAsked if the upcoming 14th round of negotiations on the FTA is likely to be the final one the EAM said We have made substantial progress but I dont think it would be prudent of me to make predictions or to put timelines I think both sides are very aware of the importance of the FTA and will make the utmost effort to get there So we have to take it as it happensAs the first minister to hold bilateral talks with the newly appointed UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron Jaishankar said they covered a range of regional issues such as the RussiaUkraine conflict and also the IsraelHamas conflict in West AsiaHe also shared that Cameron presented him with a cricket bat signed by both England and Indian cricket teams a gift he described as very specialEarlier during his meeting with Rishi Sunak at 10 Downing Street on Sunday he had gifted the UK Prime Minister a cricket bat signed by batting legend Virat KohliOverall I would say this visit was timely and much needed because these personal interactions do a lot in really developing an understanding between countries I was very satisfied the British system made an effort to engage at all the relevant levels from the prime minister downwards and that itself is a statement of the closeness of our ties today he saidJaishankar also highlighted the bipartisan nature of the bilateral relationship reflecting on his very wideranging discussions with Opposition Labour Party Leader Keir Starmer and shadow foreign secretary David LammyHis final engagement was an inconversation session entitled How a billion people see the world organised by Wilton Park at the Royal OverSeas League in London during which he covered a broad range of topics including the momentum behind Indias growth story realities of the relations with China and the rise of a more authentic IndiaThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever