Indian Defense Minister Abruptly Calls off Visit to UK Over ‘Scheduling Issues’

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson was in India for a state visit in April. At the time, he announced an “India-Specific Open General Export License” aimed at facilitating the procurement of modern British defense technology across the land, sea, air, space, and cyber domains.

India’s Defense Minister Rajnath Singh has postponed his three-day trip to the UK, days after a high-level delegation of British Sikh soldiers visited religious, cultural, and historical sites in Pakistan.

The visit was not formally announced by the two sides, but the government sources in Delhi revealed that Singh, who had planned to lead a high-level defense team including industry leaders, was scheduled to begin his three-day visit to the UK on Sunday.

“Scheduling issues are the reason. Something comes up at the last moment, and dates need to be revised,” an Indian government official told Sputnik on condition of anonymity.

However, the Defense Ministry spokesperson offered “no comment” when asked if the development is linked to a recent visit to historical and religious places in Pakistan by 12 British Sikh soldiers.

The media wing of the Pakistan Armed Forces said that the British delegation, headed by a major general, met with General Qamar Javed Bajwa on 28 June at the Army headquarters, also visiting several religious places linked to Sikh pride.

New Delhi accused Islamabad and Pakistan's Army of fueling Sikh resentment in India's Punjab by extending support to the secessionist movement demanding a separate Sikh homeland named Khalistan.

Two days prior to Singh's visit, British Prime Minister Johnson also accused Indian authorities of "arbitrarily" detaining British-Sikh national Jagtar Singh Johal, who was charged by India's National Investigative Agency (NIA) with being a member of the banned Khalistan Liberation Front (KLF).

"I don't think there's any reason for India to be so irked as to postpone the defense minister's visit to the UK with which we've been negotiating a Free Trade Agreement. In fact, any such linkage will be counterproductive," Amit Cowshish, former financial advisor to the Indian Defense Ministry, told Sputnik.

Ahead of Singh's proposed visit to the UK, Minister for Defense Procurement Jeremy Quin told The Economic Times, an Indian daily, about possible collaboration on maritime electric propulsion systems, fighter aircraft, and jet engine technology between the two countries.

During his visit in April, Johnson offered defense tech know-how to India to give an impetus to the modest UK-India defense ties.

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