ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has rejected its listing by the US State Department placing the country among religious freedom violators.

In a statement issued by Pakistan’s foreign ministry on Tuesday, Islamabad termed the designation as “unilateral and arbitrary” which is not only detached from ground realities of Pakistan but also raises questions about the credibility and transparency of the entire exercise.”

On Dec. 20, the US re-designated Pakistan and seven other countries including China, Myanmar, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan over concerns regarding violation of religious freedom.

Pakistan foreign office further highlighted the “conspicuous omission” of India from the list saying it showed “subjectivity and bias of the State Department’s designations” calling India “the biggest violator of religious freedom.”

“The designation is reflective of selective targeting of countries, and thus unlikely to be helpful to the professed cause of advancing religious freedom,” the Foreign Office (FO) statement added.

According to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, “the government of Pakistan failed to adequately protect these groups, and it perpetrated systematic, ongoing, egregious religious freedom violations; this occurred despite some optimism about the potential for reform under the new government of Prime Minister Imran Khan.”

The FO said that Pakistan is a multi-religious and pluralistic country where people of all faiths enjoy religious freedom under constitutional protections.

It added that the country’s main pillars — Executive, Legislature and the Judiciary — have made concerted efforts to ensure that all citizens of Pakistan, irrespective of faith, denomination, caste or creed, can profess and practice their religion in full freedom.

“The higher judiciary of the country has given landmark judgments directing on ensuring the sanctity and security of places of worship of minorities,” the statement read.

The FO said that Pakistan has also engaged with the international community, including the United States, for better understanding on religious freedom issues.

“Pakistan has also raised concerns over growing trend of Islamophobia in many Western countries including the United States. Working together in an environment of trust and understanding is the best way forward in realizing the objective of promoting and protecting religious freedom,” the foreign office said.