Attacks on London mission worry govt

NEW DELHI: The Indian government is taking a grim view of the repeated attacks on the Indian high commission in

London

, by Pak-sponsored protesters, the most recent of which happened on Tuesday afternoon, causing damage to Indian property. Senior government sources said India was contemplating a set of responses against the UK in the coming weeks.

Describing the acts as “unacceptable” the MEA spokesperson said, "We are deeply concerned by the reports of unruly demonstration by Pakistan incited elements and consequent organised

vandalism

of the property of the High Commission of India in London. This is the second time in a less than a month that such an incident has taken place affecting the security and the normal functioning of our Mission. We consider these incidents to be unacceptable and have strongly urged the Government of UK to take action against those involved, and take necessary steps to ensure the normal functioning of our Mission and the safety and security of our personnel.”

Government sources expressed growing concerns – if London, as a global city in the first world cannot prevent such attacks specifically directed against India, it bodes ill for Indian presence in future.

The attack was significant for certain reasons. The group of several thousand people protesting in central London obviously received official permission to do so. Security cover or action was woefully inadequate, said sources in London despite fairly high threat levels that even Indians picked up. Since August 15, this has been the second attack on the Indian mission in London. Indian officials are now concerned that Indian companies in London could be targeted next.

India is not yet blaming the Pakistan-origin mayor,

Sadiq Khan

, who was quick to tweet his condemnation of the incident. According to the London Metropolitan Police, two persons have been arrested for the vandalism. The British foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, was quoted as saying, “any violence is deplorable. It shouldn't be conducted in this country, or anywhere else for that matter, at any individual communities.” However, India sees a section of British politics trying to muddy waters on two areas — human rights and “Kashmiri” identity, which, in the UK is almost synonymous with Pakistan.

Complicating matters is the fact that these protests are also tied to local British politics which is particularly precarious right now, elections looming. Several Labour Party MPs, like Liam Byrne from Birmingham Hodge Hill led the marches, virtually calling for war against India. Sources say as British politicians pander to their constituencies many of whom hold ghettoes of Pakistani-origin people, many of whom are unemployed or under-employed, the political temptation to give in to incidents like this is high.

Indian officials who have been watching these incidents closely also say that while some of the direction of these protests are from Pakistan, much of the funding is generated in the UK.


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