Designate India As ‘Country Of Particular Concern’: US Watchdog Tells President Biden

Washington: The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an independent federal government commission, has urged President Joe Biden to designate India as a ‘country of particular concern’ under US Religious Freedom Act, reported Reuters.

America’s religious freedom watchdog, which called on the Biden administration, said recent efforts by the Indian government to silence activists, journalists and lawyers abroad pose a serious threat to religious freedom.

“USCIRF implores the US Department of State to designate India a Country of Particular Concern due to India’s systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of freedom of religion or belief,” it said in a statement.

USCIRF commissioner Stephen Schneck said India’s alleged involvement in the murder of Khalistani activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada and a plot to kill another Khalistan terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in the United States was “deeply troubling.”

USCIRF claimed that it had been recommending to the US State Department since 2020 that India be labelled a country of particular concern under the 1998 US Religious Freedom Act, which allows a range of policy responses, including sanctions or waivers.

India has acknowledged receiving inputs shared by the US on a nexus between organised criminals, gun runners and terrorists, and assured that a probe is being conducted by all relevant departments.

As for Canada’s claim on the killing of Nijjar, India has repeatedly dismissed the charge and said that Canada has not provided any evidence.