‘Arbitrary and selective’: Pakistan rejects US religious freedom designation

Pakistan on Wednesday rejected the US State Department’s “arbitrary and selective assessment” under a domestic legislation on religious freedom, terming it a counterproductive to promote bilateral relations.

Pakistan and China were among several countries designated by the State Department as countries of “particular concerns” regarding religious freedom on the recommendation of the US International Commission on Religious Freedom (USICRF). However, the State Department rejected the proposal to place India in the list as well.

“The designation of Pakistan as a “country of particular concern” is completely against the realities on the ground and raises serious doubts about the credibility of the exercise,” said a statement issued by the Foreign Office.

“Such subjective designations do not contribute towards promoting the cause of religious freedom worldwide. Pakistan and the US have been constructively engaging on the subject at the bilateral level, a fact regrettably overlooked by the US,” the statement read.

The statement emphasised that Pakistani society was multi-religious and pluralistic with a rich tradition of interfaith harmony. “Religious freedom and the protection of the rights of minorities are guaranteed by our Constitution and ensured through a range of legislative, policy and administrative measures,” it added.

The statement pointed out that the glaring omission of India, where the RSS-BJP regime and their leaders openly disregard religious freedom and discriminate against minority communities in an institutionalised manner, was unfortunate and put the credibility of the US report into question.

“State complicity in organised violence against the Muslim minority in India is a matter of record. It is no secret that attacks by cow vigilantes and mob lynching of Indian Muslims take place regularly, with complete impunity for the perpetrators,” the statement said.

“Systematic demonisation, dispossession, marginalisation and targeted violence against Muslims using the communal slur of “love jihad” in Hindutva-inspired India has become commonplace,” it added.

The statement said the findings and recommendations of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom as well as the US congressional hearings on the maltreatment of minorities in India and the violation of religious freedom all over the country, including in the Muslim-majority Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) were ignored by the State Department.

The Foreign Office said Pakistan’s views in this regard had been conveyed to the US side. “We believe the redressal of the rising trend of intolerance, discrimination, xenophobia and Islamophobia requires global efforts based on the principles of cooperation and mutual understanding. Pakistan is sincerely playing its part in this endeavour and will continue to do so,” the statement concluded.

Earlier this week, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that he was applying the label of “countries of particular concern” under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 to China, Eritrea, Iran, Nigeria, Myanmar, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.

In a statement, Pompeo cited either these countries’ involvement or complicity in "systematic, ongoing, egregious violations of religious freedom”. He added the United States will continue to work tirelessly to end religiously-motivated abuses and persecution around the world.

According to the State Department, Comoros, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Russia were added to a special watch list, while Sudan and Uzbekistan were removed from the watch list over "concrete progress undertaken by their respective governments over the past year”.

(WITH INPUT FROM ANADOLU AGENCY)