Trade talks with UK still on, reports of pause 'baseless': MEA official

An official of the foreign ministry has said that the trade talks betwen India and UK are still on and the report by The Times in "baseless", as reported by Reuters. Earlier in the day, The Times reported that India has halted trade talks with the UK over Sikh extremists. It added that India is not expected to resume talks until the UK condemns the Sikh extremist group that attacked the Indian High Commission in London in March.

A trade deal with India has been one of the biggest goals for the British government which wants to cut tariffs and open opportunities for the UK's service sector to expand into the world's second-largest country.

The relations between the two countries have, however, soured in the past few weeks. First, over a documentary by the BBC on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. And then due to the attacks on the Indian High Commission.

The attacks were conducted by the supporters of Amriptal Singh, a Sikh separatist. Singh is a staunch supporter of a separate land for Sikhs, Khalistan. He has been on the run since last month and Punjab Police have been actively looking for him across the country.  

Similar attacks were also conducted on the Indian consulate in San Francisco.

The Times report added that in a bid to bring negotiations back on track, the UK Home Office is planning to make an announcement in the coming weeks and a crackdown on Sikh extremists and supporters of the Khalistan movement.

"Both the UK and India are committed to an ambitious and mutually beneficial free trade agreement and finalized the latest round of trade talks last week," a UK Trade Department spokesman told The Times. "The Foreign Secretary has condemned the recent acts of violence at the Indian High Commission and we are working with the Metropolitan Police on this to review security and make changes to ensure the security of employees."

Earlier, the UK economics and trade minister Kemi Badenoch said that they expect India and UK to conclude a free trade agreement this year.