Federal Human Rights Minister Dr Shireen Mazari has expressed surprise over the United States (US) Administration’s decision to add Pakistan to the ‘blacklist for religious freedom violations.’
She said that it was apparent the US was using this as a political tactic to pressure Pakistan to mitigate US failures in Afghanistan. “The timing of this move reflects this most clearly,” she said.
Dr Mazari stated that there was no doubt that Pakistan’s record on religious freedom was not ideal but it was still better than the European Union’s record; given the restrictions on churches, the banning of certain dress codes of Muslims, refusal of entry of certain preachers – the list continues.
“The timing of the US move smacks of pure political blackmailing because it comes in the wake of Pakistan opening the Kartharpur corridor to ease access for the Sikhs of India to their religious places as well as assisting Hindu groups to enter Pakistan for religious purposes when India has sought to prevent Muslims from Pakistan visiting Ajmer for religious purposes,” she added.
She further said that the deliberate ignoring of India’s shrinking space for its religious minorities by the US, while it targets Pakistan was absurd and unacceptable. “It seems that the US is ignorant to the large and diverse presence of Christian churches in Pakistan,” the human rights minister said, adding that she would like to educate the Trump administration on this count.
