‘Completely unacceptable’: UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly on pro-Khalistan posters featuring Indian High Commissioner, Consul General 

UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said on Thursday that any direct attacks on the Indian High Commission in London are completely unacceptable. He noted that the UK government has told the Indian High Commissioner to the UK as well as the Government of India that the safety of the High Commission staff is the topmost priority.  

Cleverly tweeted: “Any direct attacks on the Indian High Commission in London are completely unacceptable. We have made it clear to Vikam Doraiswami and the Government of India that the safety of staff at the High Commission is paramount”.  

His comments came after posters of the pro-Khalistani “Kill India” rally featuring the Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram K Doraiswami and Dr Shashank Vikram, who is the Consul General at the Indian Embassy in Birmingham, came out ahead of the July 8 Khalistan Freedom Rally.   

These posters falsely label them as “the faces of Hardeep Singh Nijjar’s killers in Vancouver” and erroneously call Dr Vikram as Consul General at the Indian Embassy in London. These posters are aimed at endorsing the July 8 Khalistan Freedom Rally.  

The poster was shared on Twitter by INSIGHT UK, a social movement of British Hindus and Indians. The tweet read: “A threat poster with pictures of top Indian diplomats in UK released by Khalistani extremists. Another attack at High Commission of India, London planned by Khalistani extremist groups on July 8”.  

The development comes days after the Indian Consulate in San Francisco was burnt down by Khalistani protestors on July 2. Violent protestors attempted to burn down the consulate to avenge the killing of the pro-Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada.  

At around 1:30 am on Sunday, two men dressed in black overalls, came to the front gate of the consulate and painted pro-Khalistani graffiti on the walls. They then used fuel cans to spray some inflammable substance inside the consulate premises, setting it on fire within minutes, and ran away. The San Francisco Fire Department arrived within minutes of the incident and doused the fire, as per media reports.  

No injuries to any diplomatic staff were reported due to the incident. This, however, is not the first time that posters claiming Indian diplomats were responsible for the killing of Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) chief Hardeep Singh Nijjar in June this year. Khalistani outfits have issued threats to senior Indian diplomats in Australia, Canada and the US through posters.  

Nijjar was shot dead by two unidentified assailants in the parking lot of the Guru Nanak Gurudwara Sahib in Canada’s Surrey.  

Also Read: Khalistan supporters set Indian Embassy in San Francisco on fire; US condemns vandalism

Also Read: India summons Canadian High Commissioner over Khalistani posters days ahead of 'Khalistan Freedom Rally'