The State Department has said that it condemns the provocative statements made by two leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and is pleased that the BJP has also publicly condemned the remarks.
“We are in regular high-level engagement with India on issues related to human rights and religious freedom,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said during a regular press briefing on Thursday.
“We encourage India to uphold human rights,” he said.
Referring to his visit to India last year, Ned Price said “the American and Indian peoples share a common vision of human dignity, equal opportunities and religious freedom.”
It may be recalled that after the insulting remarks made against Islam by two spokespersons of Bharatiya Janata Party, the ruling nationalist party of India, there was a great outcry among Indian Muslims.
The BJP had sacked one of the two spokespersons and suspended the other, stating that the party was “absolutely disassociated from insulting any religious figure”.
Protests erupted not only in India but also in Muslim countries after these blasphemous remarks came to light.
Protests in several cities in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh on June 10 turned violent, with about 400 people arrested.
Authorities opposed the protest with all available police forces, special services and the army. “
Critics of the Indian government have called the demolition of Muslim property a “bulldozer justice” and said it was aimed at punishing those who raised their voices.
It is to be noted that since 2014 (when Narendra Modi was first elected Prime Minister) in India, there has been a sharp rise in violent actions by Hindu nationalists against Muslims.
“We have had the opportunity to meet with Pakistani officials on a number of occasions recently,” Ned Price said in response to a question about US relations with Pakistan. At a conference on food security in New York last month, Foreign Minister Anthony Blanken met with Pakistani Foreign Minister. This is his first face-to-face meeting with Anthony Blankenship since taking office.
“It was a good and constructive discussion on various issues, including food security,” he added.
“Pakistan is our partner and we want to enhance our cooperation along these lines to ensure the protection of our common interests.”