WASHINGTON, Sept 24: The United States and the European Union slammed Railways Minister Ghulam Ahmad Bilour for offering a bounty for killing the producer of an anti-Islam film, as Islamabad disassociated itself from the offer.

Calling the minister’s offer as “inflammatory and inappropriate”, a US

State Department statement said: “There could be no justification for violence and it is important for responsible leaders to stand up and speak out against violence.”

In Brussels, the European Union issued a similar statement, saying: “We deplore the call for a bounty.”

Michael Mann, spokesman for EU foreign affairs head Catherine Ashton, said: “We are particularly concerned that this call should come from a member of the government even if the prime minister has dissociated himself from the remarks.”