The US has placed Pakistan on a watch list for “severe violations” of religious freedom, a move Pakistan has rejected as “politically motivated”.
The decision comes amid an escalating war of words between the two countries.
In a statement, issued yesterday, the US state department added Pakistan to a special watch list, while re-designating a group of other countries as being of “particular concern” on the issue of religious freedom.
“In far too many places around the globe, people continue to be persecuted, unjustly prosecuted, or imprisoned for exercising their right to freedom of religion or belief,” a state department spokesperson, noted in a statement.
Under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, the US annually designates countries of particular concern, and yesterday’s statement re-designated Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
According to Aljazeera News, Pakistan said today that it “rejects the US designation” and that the report is “not based on objective criteria”.
