The Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on Monday that the United States has placed Pakistan and nine other countries in the “countries of particular concern” list under its International Religious Freedom Act.
China, Iran, Myanmar, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Nigeria, North Korea, Eritrea and Saudi Arabia were also on the list.
The State Department makes these designations under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998. Countries in this list are classified as “having engaged in or tolerated systematic, ongoing, [and] egregious violations of religious freedom.”
Countries in this category can face various actions from Washington, including economic sanctions.
The statement accused these countries of engaging in or condoning “systematic, ongoing, egregious violations of religious freedom.”
Pompeo also announced placing Russia, Cuba, Nicaragua and Comoros in the watchlist for “severe violations of religious freedom.”
The commission also announced the removal of Sudan and Uzbekistan from its special watch list, appreciating their “significant concrete progress” in tackling religious discrimination.
The commission’s 2020 report noted that the religious trends in Pakistan have been continuously falling. “The systematic enforcement of blasphemy and anti-Ahmadia laws, and authorities’ failure to address forced conversions of religious minorities — including Hindus, Christians, and Sikhs — to Islam, severely restricted freedom of religion or belief,” the report said.
According to the report, at least 80 people are in prison for blasphemy charges. Half of these await a life sentence or the death penalty.
The report also noted the case of Junaid Hafeez, an academic who was accused of blasphemy, forced into solitary confinement for five years and eventually sentenced to the death penalty in December last year.
The United States also designated various groups, including Al Shaadab, Al Qaeda, Boko Haram and, surprisingly, the Taliban.
Placing the Taliban in this list was for many an unanticipated action, as the observers predict it could disrupt the US efforts to finalise the peace deal with the Taliban.
Pakistan has rejected its listing of the United States as a violator of religious freedom, saying it is a “unilateral and arbitrary designation” detached from the ground realities of Pakistan. Pakistan also questioned the transparency and fairness of the entire exercise.
The Pakistani Foreign Office strongly questioned the “conspicuous omission” of India from the list, saying it India’s absence reflects the “subjectivity and bias” of the United States.
“Pakistan is a multi-religious and pluralistic country where people of all faiths enjoy religious freedom under constitutional protections”, the Office said, adding that all the branches of the government — from the judiciary to the legislative bodies — have been making concerted efforts to ensure that all the citizens of Pakistan can practice their faith freely.
The Foreign Office vehemently criticized the omission of India in the list, adding that it is “the biggest violator of religious freedom.”
The commission had designated India a “Tier 2 country” in the last year’s listing. This year, however, the report does not name India among the list of the countries of particular concern.
The report noted that religious freedom conditions in India have seen a drastic downward turn, with various religious minorities — particularly the Muslims — being under increasing religious assault. Incidents of violent attacks against minorities and their houses of worship to continue with impunity.