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US report slams Pakistan over religious freedom
The US on Monday named Pakistan among a list of countries where religious persecution worsened over the past year, especially with the support of their respective governments.
The US on Monday named Pakistan among a list of countries where religious persecution worsened over the past year, especially with the support of their respective governments.
Others in this group included China, Russia, Cuba, North Korea, Iran, Afghanistan and staunch ally Saudi Arabia, according to the US International Religious Freedom report released Monday.
“More than a billion people live under governments that systematically suppress religious freedom,” said secretary of state Hillary Clinton while releasing the report. “New technologies have given repressive governments additional tools for cracking down on religious expression.”
Pakistan’s government has been called out in the report for failing to prevent ongoing abuses under its blasphemy law and other discriminatory laws, against religious minorities.
This should sound familiar to the 24 Hindu families from Pakistan now camping in Delhi waiting for the courts to decide if they should get asylum in India or return home.
Pakistan’s blasphemy and anti-Ahmadi laws came in for special mention. “The killing of those accused of blasphemy or those publicly criticising the blasphemy laws and calling for their reform continued throughout the year,” the report said.
Being named in the report carries no consequences apart, perhaps, from endless lectures from US officials — despite the fact that the US itself is struggling with rising Islamophobia.
