ISLAMABAD: Islamabad has expressed disappointment over US decision to designate Pakistan as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC).
Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch called the US decision as “detached from ground realities” and expressed concern over the exclusion of India from the list.
Also read: Religious freedom: US designates Pakistan as ‘Country of Particular Concern’
The spokesperson said Pakistan had a “multi-religious and pluralistic society with a rich tradition of inter-faith harmony” and that religious freedom and protection of the rights of minorities were guaranteed in the Constitution and enforced through a range of legislative, policy, and administrative measures.
Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said “we have also noted with deep concern and disappointment that India, the biggest violator of religious freedom, has once again not been included in the State Department’s designation list despite a clear recommendation by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).”
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The spokesperson reminded Washington that New Delhi’s treatment of religious minorities has been the “subject of several hearings of the US Congress and reports of UN high commissioner for human rights, the special procedure mandate holders of the UN Human Rights Council, and reputed international NGOs”.
“We have conveyed our concerns to the US government regarding this designation,” said the spokesperson.
