UK PM Rishi Sunak on Friday said that his government is working very closely with India to tackle pro-Khalistani extremism in the UK. He referred to the recent talks held between the UK and India on rising instances of Khalistani extremism and said no form of extremism is acceptable in the UK.
Sunak landed in New Delhi on Friday with first lady Akshata Murty for the G20 Summit.
“No form of extremism or violence like that is acceptable in the UK. And that’s why we are working very closely with the Indian government to particularly tackle ‘PKE’ Pro-Khalistan Extremism,” Sunak was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
“I don’t think it’s right. Our security minister recently was just in India talking to his counterparts. We have working groups together to share intelligence and information so that we can root out this kind of violent extremism,” Sunak said.
The UK security minister Tom Tugendhat in August announced a new funding worth Rs 1 crore to enhance the nation’s capability to tackle “pro-Khalistan extremism” after his meeting with Union minister for external affairs S Jaishankar.
Khalistani separatists earlier this March attacked the Indian High Commission in London and vandalised the premises and also disrespected the tricolour. They threatened the staffers inside the high commission premises. Similar attacks were carried out on missions across Canada, the US and Australia.
“It’s not right and I won’t tolerate it in the UK,” Sunak further added.
Rishi Sunak highlighted that India’s G20 Presidency has been a huge success during an interview with the news agency and said New Delhi is the right host at the right time to hold the summit.
“G20 has been a huge success for India. India is the right country at the right time to be hosting this,” Sunak was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
“Feel we will have a very good couple of days of deliberations and decisions made,” Sunak further added.
Sunak also reflected on the ongoing UK-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA) deal talks between London and New Delhi and said he hopes that both nations will sign an ambitious agreement. “Both Modiji and I are keen to see a comprehensive and ambitious trade deal concluded between our two countries. Trade deals always take time, they need to work for both countries. Although we have made enormous progress there is still hard work to go,” Sunak was quoted as saying by ANI.
Rishi Sunak also said that he and Prime Minister Modi are keen to further deepen and broaden UK-India ties. “The FTA is an obvious way for us to do that, which is why it remains our priority. I hope we can conclude a successful FTA,” Sunak said.
He also said that both nations are eager to strengthen the security relationship. “Something I’m particularly excited about is increasing the collaboration between our incredible researchers, our scientific community, and our universities. The UK and India are two of the leading science technology superpowers of the world. And I think if we work more closely together, we can create jobs, create new businesses,” he said.
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