Release J&K leaders held sans charges, US diplomat asks India

New Delhi: The United States on Saturday asked India to “permit regular access” for American diplomats to Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), and “to move swiftly to release those political leaders detained without charge”.

“On Jammu and Kashmir, I was pleased to see some incremental steps, including the partial return of Internet service in Kashmir. And the visit by our ambassador and other foreign diplomats to Jammu and Kashmir is something that I know was extensively covered in the press. We see this as a useful step. We also continue to urge the government to permit regular access by our diplomats, and to move swiftly to release those political leaders detained without charge,” Alice G. Wells, US’ principal deputy assistant secretary of the Bureau of South and Central Asian Asian Affairs, said in an interaction with reporters in Washington.

Though Ms Wells, who was in India from January 15-18 to attend the Raisina Dialogue, didn’t clarify what she meant by “regular access”, it probably means the freedom to visits J&K on their own, as was the case before the abrogation of Article 370.

Several leaders of various parties in Kashmir are still in detention, including three former chief ministers of the state – Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah and Mehbooba Mufti.

US ambassador to India Kenneth Juster was among the 15 foreign envoys who had visited J&K on January 9 and 10 in a visit that was organised by the ministry of external affairs (MEA).

On the controversy over the Indian Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), Ms Wells “underscored the importance of the principle of equal protection under the law”.

“The visit also offered an opportunity to hear more regarding developments with India’s Citizenship Amendment Act, which is undergoing I would say a vigorous democratic scrutiny, whether it’s in the streets, by the political opposition, media, and the courts. We continue to underscore the importance of the principle of equal protection under the law,” she said.

Ms Wells also said that a team of officials is currently in New Delhi to “focus on achieving a trade deal that promotes fair and reciprocal trade”. This is being seen by observers as significant, given the possibility that such a trade deal may be finalised and inked during the expected visit of US President Donald Trump to India sometime later next month.

Acknowledging “India’s prominent role on the world’s stage and at the heart of the Indo-Pacific region”, Ms Wells said, “Whether it’s in our growing maritime and naval cooperation, the Quad, India’s Act East Policy, there’s virtually no daylight in our approaches to the Indo-Pacific... With continued progress on defence cooperation, peacekeeping operations, space, counter-terrorism, trade, people-to-people initiatives, and more, I would highlight that the quality and frequency of our naval cooperation, specially information sharing, has reached unprecedented levels.”

She added, “We also remain focused on achieving a trade deal that promotes fair and reciprocal trade, and my colleagues from USTR are in Delhi now to continue this progress.”