An US panel on religious freedom has said that the treatment of minorities in Pakistan and India is deteriorating, and recommended that the sanctions impose themselves to officials and government agencies of the first and the external espionage agency of the latter on their alleged participation in plots to kill the Sijs separatists.
The Commission is an advisory agency of the Bipartisan United States government that monitors religious freedom abroad and makes policy recommendations.
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) said, in its annual report: “In 2024, the conditions of religious freedom in Pakistan continued to deteriorate. Communities of religious minorities, particularly Christians, Hindus and Shiites [Muslims] and [Ahmadis] – He continued to support the worst part of the persecution and prosecution under the strict Blasphemia law of Pakistan and suffer violence of the police and the mobs, while those responsible for such violence rarely faced legal consequences. Such conditions continued to contribute to a worsening of the religious and political climate of fear, intolerance and violence. “
The report published on Tuesday indicated that the accusations of blasphemy and the subsequent violence of the mafia continued to severely affect the communities of religious minorities in the country, since it listed several incidents in the last year.
He also pointed out that the “violent attacks and systematic harassment” against the Ahmadi community persisted throughout the year, which resulted in four deaths in total.
Another prominent problem was the “worsening pattern of forced conversions” between the Christian and Hindu women of the country. “
The commission recommended that the administration of the United States “impose specific sanctions on Pakistani officials and government agencies responsible for serious violations of religious freedom” by freezing the assets of these people and/or except their entry into the United States under financial authorities and visas related to human rights, citing specific violations of religious freedom.
The panel recommended that Pakistan be networks granted as a “country of particular concern” (CPC) to participate in “systematic, continuous and atrocious violations of religious freedom,” as defined by the International Religious Freedom Law (IRFA).
The panel also suggested that the United States government should enter into a binding agreement with Pakistan under section 405 (c) of IRFA to encourage substantial steps to address the violations of freedom of religion or belief with reference points, including, among others, to free the prisoners of blasphemy and other people locked by their religion or beliefs; The repeal of blasphemy and anti -ahmadi laws, and even said repeal, enact reforms to make blasphemy a bail crime, require evidence of the accusers, carry out adequate investigations by senior police officers and allow the authorities to dismiss the unintentious accusations; Enforce the articles of the existing Criminal Code that criminalizes perjury and false accusations and the person responsible for people who incite or participate in vigil violence, directed murders, forced conversion and other crimes based on religion.
Pakistan was last designated as CPC in January 2024, while India no.
Meanwhile, the report said about India: “In 2024, the conditions of religious freedom in India continued to deteriorate as attacks and discrimination against religious minorities continued to increase.”
The Hindu nationalist prime minister, Narendra Modi, and his party Bharatiya Janata (BJP) “spread the odious rhetoric and misinformation against Muslims and other religious minorities” during last year’s election campaign, he said.
India dismissed the report today, qualifying it as a pattern of “biased and politically motivated evaluations.”
“The persistent attempts of the USCIRF of misrepresenting isolated incidents and launch sprinkles on the vibrant multicultural society of India reflect a deliberate agenda instead of a genuine concern about religious freedom,” said the spokesman of the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Randhir Jaiswal, in a statement.
Washington has tried to build close links with India, given his shared concerns about China’s growing influence in Asia. Analysts say that, as a result, Washington has overlooked human rights problems.
Since 2023, the alleged targeting of the SIJ separatists from India in the United States and Canada has become a wrinkle in the ties between the United States and India, with Washington accusing a former intelligence officer of Indian, Vikash Yadav, in a frustrated plot. India labels Sijs as security threats and has denied participation.
Modi in April last year referred to Muslims as “infiltrated” that have “more children.”
The reports of the US Department of State on Human Rights and religious freedom have observed minority abuses in recent years. New Delhi calls them “deeply biased.”
Modi, who has been prime minister since 2014, denies discrimination and says that his government’s policies, as electrification units and subsidy schemes, help all communities.
The rights defenders indicate the increase in hate discourse, a citizenship law that the UN called “fundamentally discriminatory” legislation, anti-conversion that critics say that it challenges the freedom of belief, the revocation of the majority of the Muslim majority occupied by the Indian of the Indian of Kashmir and the demolition of properties owned by Muslims.
The panel recommended that the United States Government designate India as CPC for rapes of religious freedom and impose specific sanctions against the Yadav and India Analysis Research and Analysis Espionage Service.
However, it is unlikely that the United States government will sanction RAW since panel recommendations are not binding.
