ISLAMABAD: Islamabad on Thursday rejected Washington’s “arbitrary and selective assessment” under a domestic legislation on religious freedom and its designation of Pakistan as a “country of particular concern,” the Pakistani foreign office said.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday said he was designating Russia, as well as China and eight other states, as countries of concern “for having engaged in or tolerated systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.”
The other countries on the US list for “religious freedom violations” included Myanmar, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. Algeria, Comoros, Cuba and Nicaragua were placed on a watch list.
In its response, a Pakistani foreign office spokesman said the classification was against the ground realities.
“The designation of Pakistan as a ‘country of particular concern’ is completely against the realities on the ground and raises serious doubts about the credibility of this exercise,” foreign office spokesman Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said during the weekly press briefing in Islamabad.
He said Pakistan and the US had been constructively engaging on the subject at the bilateral level, a fact regrettably overlooked by the US.
“Pakistani society is multi-religious and pluralistic with a rich tradition of inter-faith harmony,” he said. “Religious freedom and the protection of the rights of minorities are guaranteed by our constitution and ensured through a range of legislative, policy and administrative measures.”
The spokesman said such “subjective designations” did not contribute toward promoting the cause of religious freedom worldwide.
Earlier in the first week on November, US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) in its annual report said that “in 2020, religious freedom conditions in Pakistan continued to worsen.”
In one of its key findings in the report, the USCIRF said that influential groups [in Pakistan] actively promoted “hate speech and incitement to violence against religious minorities” via digital platforms and public sermons.
Islamabad rejects Washington’s ‘selective assessment’ of religious freedom in Pakistan
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Islamabad rejects Washington’s ‘selective assessment’ of religious freedom in Pakistan
- United States on Wednesday designated Pakistan among 10 states as ‘countries of particular concern’
- Classification ‘regrettably overlooked’ Pakistan-US constructive engagement on subject, Islamabad says
Pakistani, Bangladeshi officials discuss trade, investment and aviation as ties thaw
- Pakistan and Bangladesh were once one nation, but they split in 1971 as a result of a bloody civil war
- Ties between Pakistan, Bangladesh have warmed up since last year and both nations have resumed sea trade
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's High Commissioner to Bangladesh Imran Haider on Sunday met Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus in Dhaka, the latter's office said on, with the two figures discussing trade, investment and aviation.
Pakistan and Bangladesh were once one nation, but they split in 1971 as a result of a bloody civil war, which saw the part previously referred to as East Pakistan seceding to form the independent nation of Bangladesh.
Ties between Pakistan and Bangladesh have warmed up since former prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s ouster as a result of a student-led uprising in August 2024. Relations remain frosty between Dhaka and New Delhi over India’s decision to grant asylum to Hasina.
Pakistan has attempted to forge closer ties with Bangladesh in recent months and both South Asian nations last year began sea trade, followed by efforts to expand government-to-government commerce.
"During the meeting, both sides discussed ways to expand cooperation in trade, investment, and aviation as well as scaling up cultural, educational and medical exchanges to further strengthen bilateral relations between the two South Asian nations," Yunus's office said in a statement on X.
In 2023-24 Pakistan exported goods worth $661 million to Bangladesh, while its imports were only $57 million, according to the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan. In Aug. this year, the Pakistani and Bangladeshi commerce ministries signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a Joint Working Group on Trade, aiming to raise their bilateral trade volume to $1 billion in the financial year that began in July.
The Pakistani high commissioner noted that bilateral trade has recorded a 20 percent growth compared to last year, with business communities from both countries actively exploring new investment opportunities, according to the statement.
He highlighted a significant increase in cultural exchanges, adding that Bangladeshi students have shown strong interest in higher education opportunities in Pakistan, particularly in medical sciences, nanotechnology, and artificial intelligence. Haider also said that Dhaka-Karachi direct flights are expected to start in January.
"Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus welcomed the growing interactions between the two countries and emphasized the importance of increased visits as well as cultural, educational and people-to-people exchanges among SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) member states," the statement read.
"Professor Yunus also underscored the need to further boost Bangladesh–Pakistan trade and expressed hope that during Mr. Haider’s tenure, both countries would explore new avenues for investment and joint venture businesses."
