The US is concerned about issues such as the rights of Indian minorities and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and President Donald Trump is expected to raise these matters in his meetings in India, a senior administration official has said.
Trump is also expected to encourage India and Pakistan to reduce tensions and engage in a bilateral dialogue to resolve their differences, the senior official, who declined to be identified, told reporters during a call on Friday.
The official, speaking ahead of Trump’s two-day visit to India beginning on February 24, noted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had “talked about how he would prioritise being inclusive of India’s religious minorities” in his first speech after winning last year’s election, and the world is looking to “India to maintain religious liberty and equal treatment for all under the rule of law”.
Responding to a question about the impact of India’s new citizenship law and the NRC on religious minorities, the official said: “I think President Trump will talk about our shared tradition of democracy and religious freedom both in his public remarks and then certainly in private.
“He will raise these issues, particularly the religious freedom issue, which is extremely important to this administration.”
The US and India, the official added, have a shared commitment to uphold “universal values, the rule of law”. At the same time, the US has “great respect for India’s democratic traditions and institutions, and we will continue to encourage India to uphold those traditions”, the official said.
The official further said: “And I think that the President will talk about these issues in his meetings with Prime Minister Modi and note that the world is looking to India to continue to uphold its democratic traditions, respect for religious minorities. Of course, it’s in the Indian constitution – religious freedom, respect for religious minorities, and equal treatment of all religions in India.”
India’s external affairs ministry has said the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the NRC are internal issues though it will continue to engage with the US administration and Congress on these matters to clear any misperceptions.
In response to another question on whether Trump would offer to mediate on the Kashmir issue, the official replied that the president is “very much encouraging a reduction in tensions between India and Pakistan, encouraging the two countries to engage in bilateral dialogue with each other to resolve their differences”.
The official added: “We continue to believe a core foundation of any successful dialogue between the two is based on continued momentum in Pakistan’s efforts to crack down on terrorists and extremists on its territory. So we continue to look for that.”
Trump, the official said, will urge both countries to maintain peace and stability along the Line of Control and “refrain from actions or statements that could increase tensions in the region”.
India has persistently spurned Trump’s offers to mediate on the Kashmir issue, saying the region is an integral part of the country and any issues with Pakistan can only be handled bilaterally according to the Simla Agreement and the Lahore Declaration.
The official also pointed to secretary of state Mike Pompeo’s major announcement about finalising an understanding with the Taliban to reduce violence in Afghanistan and said the US would encourage India all regional countries to do whatever they can to support this peace process so that it can be successful.
“But we certainly would look to India to support this peace process – an important country in the region, important to the overall stability of the region. So I think if the issue comes up, that is what would be the request from the president,” the official said.
There was no immediate response from Indian officials to the US official’s remarks.