US religious freedom report criticised

Pakistan on Thursday said unilateral reports assessing other countries’ human rights situations were not free from political bias and presented an incomplete and distorted picture.

Commenting on the recent International Religious Freedom report, Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch stated that the methodology adopted in preparing the reports and the mandate and expertise of its authors are not transparent.

“It is unfortunate that the report refers to certain incidents in Pakistan last year without highlighting the strong political will demonstrated by the government to hold the perpetrators accountable as well as the remedial efforts undertaken and the legal and administrative protections in place for religious minorities,” she said during her weekly press briefing. It cannot be viewed from the lens of any single country’s social and legal perspective, she said.

Commenting on Pak-India relations, she said Pakistan and India exchanged lists of prisoners in each other’s custody in pursuance of the Consular Access Agreement of 2008. “We will also continue endeavors to ensure the early return of all Pakistani prisoners in Indian jails. As part of these efforts, the repatriation of 62 Pakistani prisoners in 2023, and 04 in 2024, have taken place,” she said.