Acting Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Dean Thompson has raised serious concerns over human-rights violations in India including illegal detention of rights activists and journalists.
Thompson's remarks came during a congressional hearing on democracy in the Indo-Pacific on Wednesday, The Print reported.
Some of the Indian government's actions, including restrictions on freedom of expression, have raised concerns that are inconsistent with the country's democratic values, the top US official told the lawmakers.
The actions include increasing restrictions on freedom of expression and the detention of human-rights activists and journalists, Thompson said.
He said the US regularly engages in and on these issues, including the important work of civil society.
Repression in Kashmir
Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan, who represents a congressional district from Pennsylvania, raised the issue of Kashmir during the congressional hearing.
Although of course, they're two great democracies, democracies including ours and India's are not without their flaws and problems. I do have a pretty big (number of) Kashmiris in my community and there is, of course, concern about the treatment of the people living in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), she said.
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