Trade talks with UK not on pause, government sources

India has refuted reports of trade talks being cancelled with the United Kingdom over the Khalistan issue.

Sources tell OneIndia that these reports are baseless in nature. The denial comes after The Times reported about a breakdown in talks between India and the UK over the latter's refusal to condemn the Khalistan issue.

The Sikh extremist groups had attacked the Indian High Commission in London last month, The Times said in a report on Monday citing British government sources.

On March 18, protesters with Khalistan flags and banner staged a demonstration at the High Commission and also took down an Indian Flag from the first floor balcony of the building. The protesters were denouncing the recent police action in Punjab.

"Indians don't want to talk about trade until they get a very public demonstration of condemnation of Khalistan extremism in the UK," the Times said while quoting a Whitehall source.

Punjab has been witnessing violence over the past couple of months. The National Investigation Agency blamed it on the gangster-terror nexus funded by the ISI. Punjab has also been on very high alert following the manhunt launched to nab radical Sikh preachers Amritpal Singh. He has been on the run for the past three weeks.

To get the negotiations back on track the US home office has planned to announce a crackdown on Sikh extremists and supporters of the Khalistan movement.

Relations between India and the UK have been sour over the past couple of years over the same issue. A trade deal has been for long a prized goal for the British government, which wants to cut tariffs and open opportunities for UK services to operate in India, which is the second largest country in the world.

A UK trade department told the newspaper, "both the UK and India are committed to delivering an ambitious and mutually beneficial free trade agreement and concluded the latest round of trade talks last week."