Violation of religious freedom: US govt places Pakistan and China among 'countries of particular concern'

(Karachi) United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that America has included Pakistan and China in the list of countries that are of particular concern for violation of religious freedom, CNBC reported on Tuesday.

Pompeo said that apart from Pakistan and China, Myanmar, Eritrea, Iran, Nigeria, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan have also been placed in the list for their failure to stem the persecution and discrimination of faith groups.

Besides, he said the State Department placed the Comoros, Cuba, Nicaragua and Russia on a Special Watch List (SWL) for governments that have engaged in or tolerated severe violations of religious freedom.

“Religious freedom is an unalienable right, and the bedrock upon which free societies are built and flourish," he remarked.

"Today, the United States, a nation founded by those fleeing religious persecution, as the recent Commission on Unalienable Rights report noted, once again took action to defend those who simply want to exercise this essential freedom," the US Secretary of State added.

Mike Pompeo stated that the US also designated militant groups such as al-Shabaab, al-Qaida, Boko Haram, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Houthis, ISIS, ISIS-Greater Sahara, ISIS-West Africa, Jamaat Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin and the Taliban as ‘Entities of Particular Concern’.

He pointed out in wake of total loss of territory formerly controlled by al-Qaida and ISIS-Khorasan, the US did not renew the prior ‘Entity of Particular Concern’ designations of these terrorist organizations.

“While these two groups no longer meet the statutory criteria for designation, we will not rest until we have fully eliminated the threat of religious freedom abuses by any violent extremist and terrorist groups,” he said.

He mentioned that in view of significant progress by the governments of Sudan and Uzbekistan, the US removed these states from the Special Watch List. “Their courageous reforms of their laws and practices stand as models for other nations to follow,” he said.

"The US will continue to work tirelessly to end religiously motivated abuses and persecution around the world, and to help ensure that each person, everywhere, at all times, has the right to live according to the dictates of conscience," he said.

Meanwhile, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) appreciated the State Department’s move to include 10 nations in the list of Countries of Particular Concern (CPCs), including Nigeria for the first time pursuant to the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA).