New Delhi: As part of their 2+2 talks held in Washington Wednesday, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo discussed the need to protect religious freedom in India in view of the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act, and the continued lockdown in Kashmir.
Speaking to reporters after the 2+2 talks, a senior US state department official said, “I think Secretary Pompeo was very clear that we care deeply about the rights of minorities and of — and the need to protect religious freedom. It’s an integral part of our diplomacy…
“We have concerns about religious criteria, but again, this is a piece of legislation now, an act, that is continuing to be reviewed within the Indian system.”
During his talks with Jaishankar, Pompeo also highlighted that “India is a vibrant democracy”, the official said.
“There is a debate going on in India over this very legislation (Citizenship Amendment Act). It’s legislation that will be reviewed by the courts. It’s being protested by political parties. It’s being debated in the media.
“All of these institutions exist in a democratic India and so we respect that process,” the official said, adding that “religious freedom and human rights are a regular part of our dialogue”.
The comments come amid widespread protests in India over the new law that provide citizenship to six non-Muslim minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
India’s External Affairs Minister Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh are meeting their counterparts Pompeo and Defence Secretary Mark Esper, respectively, in Washington at the 2+2 talks — a dialogue mechanism between the defence and external affairs ministries of two countries.
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‘Concern over roadmap in Kashmir’
Referring to a particular question on internet and the imprisonment of politicians from mainstream parties in Kashmir Valley, the state department official also said, “We have discussed our concern over what the roadmap is in Kashmir to a return to economic and political normalcy.
“What has concerned us about the actions in Kashmir are the prolonged detentions of political leaders as well as other residents of the Valley, in addition to the restrictions that continue to exist on cell phone coverage and internet,” the official said.
The State Department official also highlighted that some policies — like the scrapping of Article 370 and the Citizenship Amendment Act — “evoke concern”, India remains a “vibrant democracy”.
These are not policies that are being “done in the dark, and so we have to respect that debate, and as well as add our voice to it when appropriate”, said the official.
“And I would remind you that it was – what was it, in the May elections that were held, 67 per cent of the Indian people (voters) came out to vote, that it was the — I think the largest percentage of women voters that we’ve seen. It was peaceful, it was contested, it was contested at national-level politics, at local-level politics. And we have to respect that process,” the official said.
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