In the wake of India's decision to strip special status of Jammu and Kashmir, <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/we-support-direct-dialogue-between-india-pak-on-kashmir-us-state-department-241415">Pakistan must refrain from any retaliatory</a> aggression, including support for infiltrations across the Line of Control (LoC) and take demonstrable action against terror infrastructure on its soil, said a joint statement by the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday.

The statement issued by Representative Eliot L. Engel, <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/pakistan-partially-closes-its-airspace-with-india-on-eastern-front-241404">Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs</a> Committee and Senator Bob Menendez, Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that transparency and political participation are the cornerstones of representative democracies and hoped that the Indian government would abide by these principles in Jammu and Kashmir.

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"As the world's largest democracy, India has an opportunity to demonstrate for all its citizens the importance of protecting and promoting equal rights, including freedom of assembly, access to information, and equal protection under the law," the statement said. &nbsp;

"Transparency and political participation are the cornerstones of representative democracies and we hope the India government will abide by these principles in Jammu and Kasmir," it added.

"And at the same time, Pakistan must refrain from any retaliatory aggression--including support for infiltrations across the Line of Control--and take demonstrable action against the&nbsp;infrastructure on Pakistan's soil," the statement said.

The joint statement comes amid spiralling tensions between India and Pakistan which came after the Indian Parliament passed a resolution to revoke Article 370 that granted to Jammu and Kashmir and a bill bifurcating the border state into two Union Territories earlier this week.

Rattled by New Delhi's decisions, Islamabad "rejected" the move and said it will exercise "all possible options" to counter the steps.&nbsp;

In the wake of India's decision to strip special status of Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan must refrain from any retaliatory aggression, including support for infiltrations across the Line of Control (LoC) and take demonstrable action against terror infrastructure on its soil, said a joint statement by the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday.

In the wake of India's decision to strip special status of Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan must refrain from any retaliatory aggression, including support for infiltrations across the Line of Control (LoC) and take demonstrable action against terror infrastructure on its soil, said a joint statement by the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday. The statement issued by Representative Eliot L. Engel, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Senator Bob Menendez, Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that transparency and political participation are the cornerstones of representative democracies and hoped that the Indian government would abide by these principles in Jammu and Kashmir. Watch Video: "As the world's largest democracy, India has an opportunity to demonstrate for all its citizens the importance of protecting and promoting equal rights, including freedom of assembly, access to information, and equal protection under the law," the statement said. "Transparency and political participation are the cornerstones of representative democracies and we hope the India government will abide by these principles in Jammu and Kasmir," it added. "And at the same time, Pakistan must refrain from any retaliatory aggression--including support for infiltrations across the Line of Control--and take demonstrable action against the infrastructure on Pakistan's soil," the statement said. The joint statement comes amid spiralling tensions between India and Pakistan which came after the Indian Parliament passed a resolution to revoke Article 370 that granted to Jammu and Kashmir and a bill bifurcating the border state into two Union Territories earlier this week. Rattled by New Delhi's decisions, Islamabad "rejected" the move and said it will exercise "all possible options" to counter the steps.

Pak must stop supporting infiltration across LoC: US Senate foreign affairs committee

The US has resumed premium processing of H-1B work visas in all categories, months after it was suspended temporarily to handle the huge rush of applications for the work visas popular among Indian IT professionals.

Premium processing of H-1B visa was suspended in April to handle huge rush of new petitions. In September, the country opened up some categories of the H-1B visas for the fast processing.

&quot;Premium processing is now available for all types of H- 1B petitions,&quot; US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said yesterday.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. The technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year.

As mandated by the Congress every year USCIS can issue a maximum of 65,000 H-1B visas and 20,000 to those who have earned a higher education in STEM subjects from a US higher educational institution.

H-1B visas to several categories like those in academic and research institutes are exempted from the Congressional mandated limit.

When a petitioner requests the agency&#39;s premium processing service, USCIS guarantees a 15-calendar day processing time.

If that time is not met, the agency will refund the petitioner&#39;s premium processing service fee and continue with the expedited processing of the application.

Meanwhile, Kenneth Juster, nominee for US Ambassador to India, during his confirmation hearing said that H-1B visa has been an important part of the India-US relationship and there is a consensus that it should be corrected to high-quality jobs.

&quot;I think there is a consensus that it (H-1B) should be corrected to high-quality jobs. I think that message from my understanding is being heard in India as well in the United States,&quot; Juster told members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

&quot;However, actual details on what will be the final policy on H-1B remains to be determined. So I&#39;m not really in a position to represent the administration on where they are&nbsp;Juster said when asked about his position on H-1B visas by Senator Chris Coons.

The Trump administration is currently reviewing the H-1B visa policy as it thinks that the visa is being misused by companies to replace American workers.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj raised the visa issue with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson when the two leaders met in New York last month on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

&nbsp;

The US has resumed premium processing of H-1B work visas in all categories, months after it was suspended temporarily to handle the huge rush of applications for the work visas

The US has resumed premium processing of H-1B work visas in all categories, months after it was suspended temporarily to handle the huge rush of applications for the work visas popular among Indian IT professionals. Premium processing of H-1B visa was suspended in April to handle huge rush of new petitions. In September, the country opened up some categories of the H-1B visas for the fast processing. "Premium processing is now available for all types of H- 1B petitions," US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) said yesterday. The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise. The technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year. As mandated by the Congress every year USCIS can issue a maximum of 65,000 H-1B visas and 20,000 to those who have earned a higher education in STEM subjects from a US higher educational institution. H-1B visas to several categories like those in academic and research institutes are exempted from the Congressional mandated limit. When a petitioner requests the agency's premium processing service, USCIS guarantees a 15-calendar day processing time. If that time is not met, the agency will refund the petitioner's premium processing service fee and continue with the expedited processing of the application. Meanwhile, Kenneth Juster, nominee for US Ambassador to India, during his confirmation hearing said that H-1B visa has been an important part of the India-US relationship and there is a consensus that it should be corrected to high-quality jobs. "I think there is a consensus that it (H-1B) should be corrected to high-quality jobs. I think that message from my understanding is being heard in India as well in the United States," Juster told members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "However, actual details on what will be the final policy on H-1B remains to be determined. So I'm not really in a position to represent the administration on where they are Juster said when asked about his position on H-1B visas by Senator Chris Coons. The Trump administration is currently reviewing the H-1B visa policy as it thinks that the visa is being misused by companies to replace American workers. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj raised the visa issue with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson when the two leaders met in New York last month on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

US resumes premium processing of all H-1B visa categories

Hollywood actor Ashton Kutcher on Wednesday went to Washington, DC, to testify before Congress about modern slavery during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee meeting.

Kutcher gave a passionate speech on child trafficking and the sexual exploitation of children. &ldquo;The right to pursue happiness, for so many, is stripped away; it&rsquo;s raped; it&rsquo;s abused. It&rsquo;s taken by force, fraud, or coercion. It is sold for the momentary happiness of another,&rdquo; he said.&nbsp;

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Kutcher acknowledged that internet trolls tell him to &ldquo;stick to his day job&rdquo;, and not talk about politics. He then went on to clarify what his day job was. &nbsp;&nbsp;

He said his day job was being the chairman and co-founder of Thorn, an organisation that builds software to fight human trafficking and the sexual exploitation of children.

He added that as part of his &ldquo;day job&rdquo; he&rsquo;s met trafficking victims in Russia, India, and he&#39;s also met victims trafficked from Mexico.&quot;I&#39;ve been on FBI raids where I&#39;ve seen things that no person should ever see,&quot; he said.&nbsp;

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It&#39;s not just my job, it&#39;s my duty to the global community. Everyone has the right to pursue happiness. <a href="https://t.co/kMJK1SyN6R">https://t.co/kMJK1SyN6R</a>
&mdash; ashton kutcher (@aplusk) <a href="https://twitter.com/aplusk/status/832030387610152961">February 16, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Kutcher choked up a few times while describing a&nbsp;video&nbsp;in which he saw a child the same age as his own being raped by an American man in Cambodia.&nbsp;The 39-year-old actor is a father of two -- a 2-month-old son and a 2-year-old daughter.

(WION)

'I've been on FBI raids where I've seen things that no person should ever see'

Hollywood actor Ashton Kutcher on Wednesday went to Washington, DC, to testify before Congress about modern slavery during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee meeting. Kutcher gave a passionate speech on child trafficking and the sexual exploitation of children. “The right to pursue happiness, for so many, is stripped away; it’s raped; it’s abused. It’s taken by force, fraud, or coercion. It is sold for the momentary happiness of another,” he said. Kutcher acknowledged that internet trolls tell him to “stick to his day job”, and not talk about politics. He then went on to clarify what his day job was. He said his day job was being the chairman and co-founder of Thorn, an organisation that builds software to fight human trafficking and the sexual exploitation of children. He added that as part of his “day job” he’s met trafficking victims in Russia, India, and he's also met victims trafficked from Mexico."I've been on FBI raids where I've seen things that no person should ever see," he said. It's not just my job, it's my duty to the global community. Everyone has the right to pursue happiness. https://t.co/kMJK1SyN6R — ashton kutcher (@aplusk) February 16, 2017 × Kutcher choked up a few times while describing a video in which he saw a child the same age as his own being raped by an American man in Cambodia. The 39-year-old actor is a father of two -- a 2-month-old son and a 2-year-old daughter. (WION)

Ashton Kutcher gets emotional testifying about human trafficking, modern slavery