Religious freedom: US designates Pakistan, other states as 'Countries of Particular Concern'

ISLAMABAD: The United States has designated Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and China, among five others as "Countries of Particular Concern" for alleged violations of religious freedom.

"The United States is designating Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, Nigeria, the DPRK, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan as Countries of Particular Concern under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, as amended, for engaging in or tolerating "systematic, ongoing, egregious violations of religious freedom," US Secretary of Mike Pompeo said in a statement, which he also shared on his Twitter account on Tuesday.

He said that religious freedom was an unalienable right, and the bedrock upon which free societies were built and flourished.

"Today, the United States - a nation founded by those fleeing religious persecution, as the recent Commission on Unalienable Rights report noted - once again took action to defend those who simply want to exercise this essential freedom," he said.

"We are also placing the Comoros, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Russia on a Special Watch List for governments that have engaged in or tolerated "severe violations of religious freedom," he announced.

Additionally, he added, "we are designating al-Shabaab, al-Qa'ida, Boko Haram, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Houthis, ISIS, ISIS-Greater Sahara, ISIS-West Africa, Jamaat Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin, and the Taliban as Entities of Particular Concern under the Frank R Wolf International Religious Freedom Act of 2016.

We have not renewed the prior Entity of Particular Concern designations for al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula and ISIS-Khorasan, due to the total loss of territory formerly controlled by these terrorist organisations.

While these two groups no longer meet the statutory criteria for designation, we will not rest until we have fully eliminated the threat of religious freedom abuses by any violent extremist and terrorist groups."

He further announced that Sudan and Uzbekistan had been removed from the Special Watch List based on significant, concrete progress undertaken by their respective governments over the past year.

"Their courageous reforms of their laws and practices stand as models for other nations to follow," he added.

He further stated: "And yet our work is far from complete. The United States will continue to work tirelessly to end religiously motivated abuses and persecution around the world, and to help ensure that each person, everywhere, at all times, has the right to live according to the dictates of conscience."

Pakistan has not yet commented on the US move, however, it had earlier rejected the previous "Annual Report of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom" released in April 2020, in which the Commission had recommended to the State Department to re-designate Pakistan as a "country of particular concern".

"In 2019, religious freedom conditions across Pakistan continued to trend negatively. The systematic enforcement of blasphemy and anti-Ahmadiyya 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 pointed out.

It has recommended to the State Department to re-designate Pakistan as a "country of particular concern," or CPC, for engaging in systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom, as defined by the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA), and lift the waiver releasing the administration from taking otherwise legislatively mandated action as a result of the designation.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020