Pakistan rejects US arbitrary assessment on religious freedom

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan once again for another consecutive year, outrightly rejected the US State Department’s arbitrary and selective assessment under a US domestic legislation on religious freedom which designated Pakistan as a “country of particular concern”.

“This is completely against the realities on the ground and raises serious doubts about the credibility of the exercise. Such subjective designations do not contribute towards promoting the cause of religious freedom worldwide,” responded the Foreign Office on Wednesday.

The government says that its views in this regard have been conveyed to the US side but did not clarify if a US diplomat from its embassy had been summoned. Pakistan says it is surprised that despite the fact that both countries have been constructively engaging on the subject at the bilateral level, this fact is regrettably overlooked by the US.

“The glaring omission of India, where the RSS-BJP regime and their leaders openly disregard religious freedom and discriminate against minority communities in an institutionalised manner, is unfortunate and puts the credibility of the US report into question,” pointed out the Foreign Office.

In fact, The News earlier too pointed out that India’s complete disregard for religious freedom and heavy handiness against its Muslim community has been documented by the independent Indian media itself. Pakistan’s media too has documented instances of minorities here being discriminated against in many instances but not by the state.

“State complicity in organised violence against the Muslim minority in India is a matter of record. It is no secret that attacks by cow vigilantes and mob lynchings of Indian Muslims take place regularly, with complete impunity for the perpetrators. Systematic demonisation, dispossession, marginalisation and targeted violence against Muslims using the communal slur of ‘love jihad’ in Hindutva-inspired India has become commonplace,” was a strong reminder to Washington which has chosen to turn a blind eye.

The Foreign Office says that findings and recommendations of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom as well as the US Congressional hearings on the maltreatment of minorities in India and the violation of religious freedom all over the country including in the Muslim-majority Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IOJ&K) were ignored by the US State Department.

Pakistan says its 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 its Constitution and ensured through a range of legislative, policy and administrative measures.

“We believe the redressal of the rising trend of intolerance, discrimination, xenophobia and Islamophobia requires global efforts based on the principles of cooperation and mutual understanding. Pakistan is sincerely playing its part in this endeavour and will continue to do so,” it added.