US blacklisting Pakistan for religious freedom is mere political rhetoric
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The relationship between Pakistan and the US has seen several ups and downs in the recent past. As the Trump administration landed in the White House, it had no love lost for Pakistan and President Trump’s tweets declaring Pakistan a safe heaven for terrorists made that evidently clear. Yet, things took quite a turn when Trump reached out to Prime Minister Imran Khan and requested his help in resolving the Afghan conflict.
The new understanding between the Trump administration and civil-military stakeholders in Pakistan on the Afghan issue, aided by the personal chemistry between Trump and Khan, brought a marked improvement in bilateral ties. Even after the suspension of Doha talks between the Afghan Taliban and the US, Pakistan played its role to keep the channels of communication open between the two sides. In return, the US resumed Pakistan’s participation in the International Military Education and Training Programme (IMET), which has been a pillar of US-Pakistan military ties.
Still, the resumption of IMET, a program that falls under the purview of the State Department, doesn’t mean that bilateral ties are back on track. Significant trust issues still remain between the two sides and the State Department’s recent decision to retain Pakistan on a list of countries that have tolerated systematic religious discrimination has laid bare that Washington is not easing its political pressure on Pakistan.
The US Commission for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has expressed its concerns about the state of religious freedom in Pakistan for quite some time, yet the US administration moved to implement these USCIRF recommendations only after President Trump lashed out at Pakistan at the start of 2018.
It is clear that the US still considers Pakistan’s role vital in achieving a negotiated settlement to the Afghan conflict and is concerned that the fallout from Soleimani’s killing could impact this theater.
Umer Karim
Initially, the country was put on a special watch-list for severe violations of religious freedom. This was not the only punitive measure taken by the Trump administration against Pakistan-- it was followed by a suspension of security assistance to Pakistan. Even though both sides eventually found common ground over Afghanistan at the end of 2018, the US didn’t back out on the religious freedom vector and placed Pakistan on a black-list of countries of particular concern with regards to religious freedom.
The move had clear political undertones and was meant to damage Pakistan’s reputation on the global level. Since it was not followed by any kind of sanctions, its practical manifestations were limited. But the timing of the decision could not have been more ironic as it came only after Pakistan had actually started taking stringent steps against religious discrimination. The acquittal of blasphemy-accused Aasia Bibi by the Supreme Court of Pakistan and strong action against fundamentalist elements protesting this decision suggested a very different ground reality.
On the other hand, the real surprise has been Washington’s silence over developments in India that clearly and unequivocally undermine religious freedom and are increasingly geared toward making the country a “Hindu Rashtra”.
India has recently passed the Citizen Amendment Act (CAA) that essentially discriminates specifically against Muslims. This bill introduces a religious test for citizenship for migrants that have arrived in India from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. Migrants of all faiths are eligible for Indian citizenship-- barring Muslims. It appears even the institutionalization of religious discrimination within the Indian constitution and operationalization of state machinery for this purpose is not enough to raise eyebrows within the US administration and land India into any trouble with the US administration.
USCIRF has been quite vocal in its consternation over the CAA and has issued a report over the religious implications of the National Register of Citizens in India. In its latest press statement, the USCIRF not only raised serious concerns over the enactment of CAA in India but was also eyeing the recommendation of a sanction over the issue. Yet, the US State Department didn’t seriously consider these points highlighted by the USCIRF, furthering the assertion that the whole practice of designating countries for violations of religious freedom remains a purely political affair. The same can be said about America’s ambivalent attitude toward its foremost middle-eastern ally Israel, and its treatment of not only the Palestinians but also the Arab citizens of Israel.
As 2019 approached its end, the US decided to retain Pakistan on the blacklist of religious freedom while on the other end has been engaging increasingly with Pakistan with regards to regional security. Following the killing of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force Chief General Qassem Soleimani, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reached out to Pakistan’s Army Chief General Bajwa. It is clear that the US still considers Pakistan’s role vital in achieving a negotiated settlement to the Afghan conflict and is concerned that the fall-out from Soleimani’s killing could impact this theater.
Since Pakistan and the US under the Trump administration have relatively similar views over Afghanistan but differ considerably in their respective views regarding the political and security order in South Asia, it can be concluded that this carrot and stick approach of the US toward Pakistan will continue in the near future.
*Umar Karim is a doctoral researcher at the University of Birmingham. His research focuses on the evolution of Saudi Arabia’s strategic outlook, the Saudi-Iran tussle, conflict in Syria, and the geopolitics of Turkey, Iran and Pakistan. Twitter: @UmarKarim89
