U.S. Commission urges Biden govt to impose sanctions on India over ‘religious freedom’ concerns  

The United States of America has multiple government-affiliated independent bodies filled with U.S. representatives that advise the President’s government policies related to foreign relations, and one of them is U.S. Commission on Religious Freedom. This commission has reportedly asked the Joe Biden-led U.S. government to include India in the list of Countries of Particular Concern (CPC) on the grounds of the stated religious concerns in the country, as per Republic. The U.S. government imposes various economic and diplomatic sanctions on countries that are on this list.  

The commission has said in its report that there have been ‘severe violations’ of religious minorities in India and thus recommended sanctions on India. Furthermore, it has recommended the Biden government to freeze India’s financial assets and also impose sanctions on India’s certain ‘government agencies.’ Various Asian countries such as Russia, China, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Myanmar are on the CPC list. However, there has been no statement on this issue either from the Indian or the United States government. India’s Ministry of External Affairs is expected to give its response on this matter soon. 

Image courtesy: Reuters