US diplomat urges India to release Kashmiri leaders detained without charge

India is moving away from having a passive foreign policy to the one vigorously advancing its interests, a top American diplomat said Friday, attributing the trend to New Delhi’s “broadening strategic horizons” over the past two decades.

“It’s clear that India’s broadening strategic horizons over the past two decades have resulted in a shift away from a passive foreign policy to the one that advances Indian interests more vigorously,” acting Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Alice Wells told reporters at a news conference.

Wells, who has just returned from a trip to the region besides attending the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi, said nowhere this shift is more visible than in the Indo-Pacific region.