ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Wednesday urged the United States to put its own house in order and check racism and exponential rise in Islamophobia.
Pakistan rejected the US State Department’s ‘unilateral and politically motivated’ pronouncement released in the context of its annual religious freedom report.
Foreign Office Spokesperson Dr Mohammed Faisal said an honest self-introspection “would also have been timely to know the causes of exponential rise in Islamophobia and anti-Semitism in the US.
Besides the clear biases reflected from these designations, he said, “there are serious questions on the credentials and impartiality of the self-proclaimed jury involved in this unwarranted exercise.”
Earlier, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the move to blacklist Pakistan in a congressionally mandated annual report.
The measure means the US government is obliged to exert pressure, including imposing sanctions if necessary to end freedom violations.
Nine countries remained for another year on the US list of ‘countries of particular concern’ - China, Eritrea, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. The US removed one country from the blacklist – Uzbekistan, but kept it on the watch list
A spokesperson in the US embassy in Islamabad clarified that Pompeo had issued a waiver over potential sanctions against Pakistan as required by ‘the important national interest of the United States.’
Pak-US ties have soured in recent years with US officials repeatedly accusing Islamabad of ignoring or even collaborating with groups like the Afghan Taliban, which attack Afghanistan from alleged safe havens along the border between the two countries.
The troubled relationship hit another snag last month after US President Donald Trump declared he had cancelled assistance worth hundreds of millions of dollars because Islamabad does not do ‘a damn thing’ for the US.
There was a sign of thaw this month when Trump wrote a letter to Prime Minister Imran Khan seeking cooperation to resolve the Afghanistan issue. There was however, no end to the hostile statements from Washington.
Former secretary of state Rex Tillerson had placed Pakistan on a special watch list to warn them of their likelihood of being placed on the list of Countries of Particular Concern.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo then made that determination and identified Pakistan as CPC in the hope that the new leadership would work to improve the situation.
Dr Mohammed Faisal said Pakistan was a multi-religious and pluralistic society where people of diverse faiths and denominations lived together.
“Around 4 per cent of our total population comprises citizens belonging to Christian, Hindu, Budhists and Sikh faiths. Ensuring equal treatment of minorities and their enjoyment of human rights without any discrimination is the cardinal principle of the Constitution of Pakistan,” he said.
Faisal said special seats had been reserved for minorities in the Parliament to ensure their adequate representation and voice in the legislation process.
“A vibrant and independent National Commission on Human Rights is functioning to address concerns on violation of the rights of minorities. Successive governments have made it a priority that rights of citizens belonging to minority faiths are protected as guaranteed by the law and the Constitution. The higher judiciary of the country has made several landmark decisions to protect the properties and places of worships of minorities,” he added.
The spokesperson said as a party to 7 out of the 9 core human rights treaties, Pakistan was submitting its compliance reports on its obligations with regard to fundamental freedoms.
“The government of Pakistan has devised well establishment legal and administrative mechanisms to safeguard the rights of its citizens. Pakistan does not need counsel by any individual country how to protect the rights of its minorities,” he maintained.
Sadly, he said: “the proponents of human rights worldwide close their eyes on systematic persecution of minorities subjected to alien domination and foreign occupation such as in the occupied Jammu and Kashmir.”
Meanwhile, Argentina Ambassador to Pakistan Ivan Ivanissevich called on Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi here to discuss bilateral ties.
The Foreign Minister apprised the envoy about Pakistan’s investment friendly policies to attract foreign investment in the country.
The Argentine Ambassador expressed the desire to boost bilateral relations with Pakistan in trade, tourism, education and science and technology sectors, said a foreign ministry statement.
US Embassy official ‘summoned’
A Pakistani diplomatic source told Sputnik that Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned a senior US official on Wednesday and handed over a demarche while making it clear that Pakistan doesn’t need any lectures on ensuring religious freedom for minorities.
According to diplomatic sources, while recording strong protest and the ministry handed over documents to the US officials. The documents stated that all minorities have religious freedom in Pakistan under the constitution.
The letter further stated that the authorities have also ignored the behaviour with minorities in Indian-occupied Kashmir. “How can the US ignore Indian oppression in IoK,” the letter added.
It’s political blackmailing: Mazari
APP adds: Minister for Human Rights Dr Shireen Mazari Wednesday said it was apparent that the United States was using brazen political tactic to pressure Pakistan to mitigate its failures in Afghanistan.
Expressing surprise at US Administration’s decision to add Pakistan in ‘blacklist for religious freedom violations,’ she said, “Timing of this move reflects this most clearly”.
In a statement issued here, Dr Mazari said, “There is no doubt Pakistan’s record on religious freedom is not ideal but is the EU’s record better given restrictions on churches, the banning of certain dress codes of Muslims, refusal of entry of certain preachers – and the list continues?”
“In our own neighbourhood we have India where Muslims are being targeted and where the BJP is supporting violence against Muslims ostensibly over ‘beef,’ she maintained.
The minister said. “Timing of the US move smacks of pure political blackmailing because it comes in wake of Pakistan opening the Kartarpura corridor to ease access for 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.”
“The deliberate ignoring of India’s shrinking space for its religious minorities by the US while it targets Pakistan is absurd and unacceptable.”
“In case the US is ignorant about large and diverse presence of Christian churches in Pakistan,” the minister said, “I will like to educate the Trump administration on this count.”
“At the moment,” she maintained, “The following diverse denominations of Christian churches are present in Pakistan: Catholic, Methodist, Anglican, Lutheran, Baptist, Presbyterian, Pentecostal (3 separate groups under this church), Evangelical, Renewalist, Salvation Army and then as a separate entity Church of Pakistan directly linked to Archbishop of Canterbury.”
Additionally, Dr Mazari reminded that Pakistan had moved to allow its non-Muslim citizens own personal laws of marriage and divorce in keeping with their religious strictures.
She said, “While we have to move forward to further improve conditions of all our citizens including our religious minorities and other vulnerable groups, the US’s move is not based on any facts but is a purely political move in an attempt to pressure on Pakistan to do its bidding.”
“Perhaps President Trump needs to be reminded of prime minister’s pledge to the Pakistani nation that Pakistan will only act in its own interests and not be a ‘hired gun’ for any other power.”
“It is time for the US to take responsibility for its failures in Afghanistan so that it can do a course correction. And, if it is serious about religious freedoms then it needs to examine the record of Modi’s India and some of its EU allies that are moving to curtail religious freedoms of its Muslim citizens,” she concluded.
Pakistan censures US religious
freedom report