WASHINGTON  – Democratic presidential nominee and former vice president Joe Biden has urged New Delhi to take steps for restoration of rights of all the people living in occupied Kashmir.

In a statement, Biden has expressed disappointment over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and implementation of the National Register of Citizens in Assam.

“These measures are inconsistent with the country’s long tradition of secularism and with sustaining a multi-ethnic and multi-religious democracy,” according to the policy paper — ‘Joe Biden’s agenda for Muslim American community’ posted recently on his campaign website.

“In Kashmir, the Indian government should take all necessary steps to restore rights of all the people of Kashmir. Restrictions on dissent, such as preventing peaceful protests or shutting or slowing down the Internet, weakens democracy,” said the policy paper on Muslim Americans.

“Joe Biden has been disappointed by the measures that the government of India has taken with the implementation and aftermath of the National Register of Citizens in Assam and the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act into law,” it said.