The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) report’s conclusions, according to Pakistan, are based on “faulty assumptions and unsubstantiated allegations,” and they do not accurately reflect the country’s actual situation with regard to religious freedom.
Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, the spokeswoman for the Foreign Office, stated during the weekly press briefing on Thursday that the document was “non-reflective of the ground realities in Pakistan and was based on faulty assumptions and unsubstantiated allegations.”
In its annual report for 2024, the US agency responsible for evaluating threats to the basic right to freedom of religion practiced by individuals declared Pakistan a “country of particular concern for engaging in systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.”
The report mentioned episodes of violence against religious minorities and “forced conversions” that occurred in the nation last year, including the murder of a Sikh citizen in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the explosion of a mosque in Peshawar that left at least 100 people dead.
“In 2023, Pakistan’s situation on religious freedom was getting worse. According to the research, religious minorities faced mob violence, lynchings, forced conversions, and allegations of blasphemy because of their beliefs.
The report noted attacks and desecration of houses of worship, but it also listed the “positive reforms” that the Pakistani government had implemented, like changing the blasphemy laws and allowing religious minorities to elect not to study Islamic studies.
Additionally, it demanded that specific punishments be applied to Pakistani government persons and institutions that have been implicated in serious violations of religious freedom.
