ISLAMABAD – Pakistan has rejected the US State Department’s move to designate Pakistan a “country of particular concern” for having engaged in violations of religious freedom.
Foreign Office spokesperson Asim Iftikhar in weekly briefing on Thursday termed the designation as “arbitrary and selective assessment” by Washington.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinking on Wednesday announced that Burma, the People’s Republic of China, Eritrea, Iran, the DPRK, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan had been designated as Countries of Particular Concern for having engaged in or tolerated “systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.”
“I am also placing Algeria, Comoros, Cuba, and Nicaragua on a Special Watch List for governments that have engaged in or tolerated ‘severe violations of religious freedom,’ he added.
In its response, FO spokesperson said that the Washington’s move to flag Islamabad was against the ground realities, adding that it also raised questions over the credibility of the practice.
He said that Pakistan and the US had been engaged on the subject at the bilateral level, a fact unfortunately ignored by the US.
Iftikhar said that the Pakistani society is multi-religious and pluralistic with a rich tradition of inter-faith 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,” Arab News quoted him as saying.
The selective assessment will not help promote religious freedom in the world, he said.
