Pakistan rejects US report on religious freedom as 'faulty'
Pakistan
FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra-Baloch says report is based on unsubstantiated allegations
ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) – The Foreign Office on Thursday rejected the US Commission on International Religious Freedom's report as faulty and non-reflective of ground realities in Pakistan.
At her weekly news briefing in Islamabad, Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra-Baloch said the report was based on unsubstantiated allegations.
She said Pakistan believed that USCIRF's annual exercise of designating countries was unwarranted and futile.
"The futility can be gauged by the fact that since 2020 the US State Department has ignored its recommendations to declare India a country of particular concern," she said and added this exercise would have more credibility if it were free of double standards and geopolitical considerations, and if it paid increased attention to the glaring rise of Islamophobia.
The spokesperson said, "Such arbitrary designations also undermine the objective of fostering understanding and cooperation which can be achieved through dialogue and constructive engagement."
Responding to a question, the spokesperson said no dialogue was taking place with India.
She welcomed the reaffirmation by the OIC for its strong and unequivocal position on Jammu and Kashmir dispute at the recently concluded 15th Islamic summit in Gambia.
She pointed out that the moot at its final communique reaffirmed unwavering support for and solidarity with the people of occupied Kashmir in their quest for realisation of their inalienable right to self-determination in accordance with the UNSC resolutions.
The spokesperson reaffirmed that Pakistan would continue to extend moral, political and diplomatic support to their Kashmiri brothers and sisters.
The spokesperson said Pakistan was concerned about the terror threat it faced from individuals and entities in Afghanistan.
She said, "We have also found evidence that the attack on Chinese engineers in Besham had links with the terrorists currently residing inside the neighboring country." She said the planning of this attack took place in Afghanistan.
She called upon the Afghan authorities to take meaningful and effective steps against the terrorist groups including the TTP.
