By Safvan Allahverdi
WASHINGTON (AA) - The U.S. has placed Pakistan on a special watch list for “severe violations of religious freedom” days after threatening to end security assistance payments to the country.
"We believe that the protection of religious freedom is vital to peace, stability and prosperity," State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said Thursday in a statement.
"In accordance with the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, the Secretary of State annually designates governments that have engaged in or tolerated systematic, ongoing and egregious violations of religious freedom as 'Countries of Particular Concern'".
Washington’s decision on Pakistan came under the act.
Nauert also said the U.S. has re-designated 10 other nations as “countries of particular concern”.
“Today, we have re-designated #Burma, #China, #Eritrea, #Iran, #North Korea, #Sudan, #Saudi Arabia, #Tajikistan, #Turkmenistan, and #Uzbekistan as Countries of Particular Concern, and #Pakistan as part of a Special Watch List for severe violations of religious freedom,” she said on Twitter.
“These designations are aimed at improving respect for religious freedom in these countries,” she said in the statement.
President Donald Trump said Monday in a tweet that the U.S. had “foolishly” given billions of dollars in aid to Pakistan, which in return had allegedly provided safe havens to terrorists fighting in Afghanistan. The charge was immediately denied by Islamabad.
Pakistan expressed “deep disappointment” over the U.S. claims and said it was already doing a lot to fight militants.
According to data released Tuesday by Pakistan, at least 62,421 lives, including 50,000 civilians and remaining security personnel, were lost from 2003 to 2017 during the war against terror, with a $123 billion loss to the country’s economy.
"President Trump quoted a figure of $33 billion given to Pakistan over the last 15 years. He can hire a U.S.-based audit firm on our expense to verify this figure & let the world know who is lying & deceiving," Pakistan's Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif said in a tweet Tuesday.