This Article is From Dec 12, 2018

Pakistan Rejects US Blacklisting Over Religious Freedom Violations

Yesterday, the Trump administration designated Pakistan as a country of particular concern for having engaged in or tolerated "systematic, ongoing and egregious violations of religious freedom."

Pakistan Rejects US Blacklisting Over Religious Freedom Violations

Pakistan said its constitution ensures equal treatment of minorities without discrimination.

Islamabad:

Pakistan today rejected US' decision to place it on its annual list of nations that infringe on religious freedom, calling the move "unilateral and politically motivated".

"Pakistan rejects the US State Department's unilateral and politically motivated pronouncement released in the context of its annual religious freedom report," the Foreign Office said in a statement.

Yesterday, the Trump administration designated Pakistan, China, Saudi Arabia and seven others as countries of particular concern for having engaged in or tolerated "systematic, ongoing and egregious violations of religious freedom."

"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," Pakistan's statement added.

It further claimed that Pakistan was a multi-religious and pluralistic society where people of diverse faiths and denominations live together, including around 4 per cent of Christians, Hindus, Buddhists and Sikhs.

The statement added that Pakistan's constitution ensures equal treatment of minorities without discrimination.

It also called for an honest self-introspection to know the causes of exponential rise in Islamophobia and anti-Semitism in the US.

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