ISLAMABAD – Pakistan has rejected the US State Department’s move to blacklist the country for being engaged in ”systematic, ongoing, [and] egregious violations of religious freedom”, highlighting the successes made in this regard.
The foreign office issued a detailed statement on Tuesday and questioned the credentials of the jury, declaring the move “unilateral and politically motivated”.
“Besides the clear biases reflected from these designations, there are serious questions on the credentials and impartiality of the self-proclaimed jury involved in this unwarranted exercise,” said a statement issued by the foreign office.
Responding to the pronouncement, the Foreign Office asserted that Pakistan was a multi-religious and pluralistic society where people of diverse faiths and denominations live together.
“Around four percent of our total population comprises citizens belonging to Christian, Hindu, Buddhists and Sikh faiths. Ensuring equal treatment of minorities and their enjoyment of human rights without any discrimination is the cardinal principle of the Constitution of Pakistan,” it added.
The FO highlighted that special seats have been reserved for minorities in the Parliament to ensure their adequate representation and voice in the legislative process and a vibrant and independent National Commission on Human Rights is functioning to address concerns on violation of the rights of minorities.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/headline/us-blacklists-pakistan-for-severe-violations-of-religious-freedom/
“Successive governments have made it a priority that rights of citizens belonging to minority faiths are protected as guaranteed by the law and the Constitution. The higher judiciary of the country has made several landmark decisions to protect the properties and places of worships of minorities,” the statement said.
“As a party of 7 out of the 9 core human rights treaties, Pakistan is submitting its compliance reports on its obligations with regard to fundamental freedoms. The government of Pakistan has devised well established legal and administrative mechanisms to safeguard the rights of its citizens,” it said.
The foreign office clarified that Pakistan did not need counsel by any individual country how to protect the rights of its minorities.
Pakistan also apprised Washington about the continued persecution of minorities in India, especially the human rights violations in Occupied Kashmir.
“Sadly, the proponents of human rights worldwide close their eyes on the systematic persecution of minorities subjected to alien domination and foreign occupation such as in the occupied Jammu and Kashmir. An honest self-introspection would also have been timely to know the causes of the exponential rise in Islamophobia and anti-Semitism in the US,” it concluded.
The response came after a statement from the US Department of State said the countries were added to the list under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 for having engaged in or tolerated “systematic, ongoing, [and] egregious violations of religious freedom”.
“In far too many places across the globe, individuals continue to face harassment, arrests, or even death for simply living their lives in accordance with their beliefs. The United States will not stand by as spectators in the face of such oppression,” Secretary Pompeo said in the statement.
I designated Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan, as Countries of Particular Concern under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, Pompeo said.
The move, which aims at ‘improving the lives of individuals and the broader success of their societies’, was approved by Pompeo on November 28, the statement added.
The placement of Pakistan on the list of ‘Countries of Particular Concern’ comes days after Pakistan’s supreme court acquitted a blasphemy suspect, Asia Bibi, despite pressure from the various segments of the society.
