Pakistan has rejected a US government move to designate the country "of particular concern" on religious freedom, with the Pakistani foreign ministry saying the label was "unilateral and arbitrary" and the result of a biased evaluation process.
The US State Department announced last week that it was re-designating Pakistan a "country of particular concern" for having "having engaged in or tolerated 'systematic, ongoing, [and] egregious violations of religious freedom'".
Pakistan's Foreign Office, however, rejected the designation, saying it was a "selective targeting" of countries.
"This pronouncement is not only detached from ground realities of Pakistan but also raises questions about the credibility and transparency of the entire exercise," said Foreign Office spokesperson Aisha Farooqui in a statement.
"The designation is reflective of selective targeting of countries, and thus unlikely to be helpful to the professed cause of advancing religious freedom." [Al Jazeera English] Read more
