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
https://arab.news/6f73c
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
Pakistan business body writes to PM seeking ‘clear roadmap’ to spur investment
- Business confidence in Pakistan has fallen sharply amid rising inflation, high energy costs and unpredictable tax environment
- In a letter written to PM Shehbaz Sharif, the Pakistan Business Forum president highlights challenges facing the business community
KARACHI: The Pakistan Business Forum (PBF), a representative body of traders and businesspersons in the country, on Monday urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s intervention in outlining a “clear economic roadmap” to promote long-term investment in Pakistan.
Business confidence in Pakistan has fallen sharply amid rising inflation, high energy costs and an unpredictable tax environment. Currency volatility and slowing demand have prompted many firms to delay investments and scale back expansion plans.
In a letter to PM Sharif, PBF President Khawaja Mehboob-ur-Rehman highlighted the challenges facing the business community, including high input costs, soaring energy tariffs and an increasingly “uncompetitive” tax regime that weakens exports.
“Looking ahead to 2026, the Pakistan Business Forum urged the prime minister to provide the business community with a clear, credible, and forward-looking economic roadmap,” read a PBF statement.
“Such clarity... is essential to restore confidence, encourage investment, and enable long-term planning by businesses.”
The South Asian country of more than 241 million people is currently navigating a tricky path to economic recovery under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) program since averting a default in 2023.
Besides introducing structural reforms relating to expansion of the country’s tax base and privatization of loss-making entities, the government of PM Sharif says it is taking various measures to boost foreign investment and trade.
The PBF highlighted the business community is ready to play its role in competing with regional markets, if provided with the “necessary competitive tools.” It outlined critical reforms relating to regionally competitive electricity tariffs and corporate tax rates.
An increase in electricity tariffs would put further strain on industries and could lead to widespread downsizing and the closure of industrial units, according to the PBF.
It urged the government to include business representatives in the policymaking process to ensure it understands “on-ground realities.”
