India alerted New Zealand on Khalistan issue, says Jaideep Mazumdar

New Delhi [India], March 17 (ANI): India has conveyed its concerns regarding anti-India activities linked to Khalistani elements during discussions between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.

Addressing the issue, Secretary (East) Jaideep Mazumdar in a special briefing of the Ministry of External Affairs stated, "About Khalistan, this was an issue that came up... We do alert our friends to the activities of anti-India elements in their countries and their abuse of freedom of speech and other democratic freedoms to glorify terrorism and to threaten attacks against our diplomats, our parliament or our events in India. So these were also conveyed. The government of New Zealand has been receptive and has taken our concerns on board in the past as well."

India has been vocal about its stance against separatist movements operating from foreign soil. The meeting with Luxon comes at a time when the Indian government has been urging international partners to take stronger action against individuals and groups involved in extremist activities.

New Zealand has previously acknowledged such concerns, and India expects continued cooperation in addressing these threats.

Meanwhile, India's concerns over Khalistani separatist activities are not limited to New Zealand. Recently, India formally raised the issue with the United Kingdom following a security breach during External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's visit to London. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated, "We have conveyed our deep concern to the UK authorities about the breach of security arrangements by UK-based separatist and extremist elements during EAM's visit."

Jaiswal further criticised the "license accorded to such forces" and the indifference toward their threats and intimidation tactics. He stressed that India would assess the sincerity of the UK's response based on the actions taken against those responsible. The UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) later condemned the protests staged by Khalistani elements outside Chatham House, where Jaishankar had been addressing a discussion.

The government continues to push for stringent measures against such groups, emphasising that their activities pose a direct threat to India's sovereignty and diplomatic interests. (ANI)

(The story has come from a syndicated feed and has not been edited by the Tribune Staff.)