The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) recommended a “binding agreement’ between the United States and Pakistan, with the goal of improving the treatment of Pakistan’s religious minorities.
Pakistan’s state religion is Islam and 97% of the population is Muslim. Laws against blasphemy in Pakistan have led to both attacks and death sentences for members of Pakistan’s religious minority communities. Extrajudicial killings of at least 65 victims accused of blasphemy have also been reported from Pakistan.
Pakistan have been designated as a “Country of Particular Concern” by the U.S. State Department since 2018 for ongoing abuses of religious freedom. The blasphemy laws, introduced in the 1980s, are frequently abused to settle personal scores or to persecute religious minorities.
A recent USCIRF report recommended eliminating the practice of listing a person’s religion on their identification cards which have led to strong discrimination against Christians and other religious minorities. Also, USCIRF urged Pakistan to expedite the review of all blasphemy cases and enforce proper handling of blasphemy accusations. USCIRF went on to call for the humane treatment of those accused of blasphemy and the removal of materials from educational curricula that denigrate religious minorities.
Religious leaders in the country have repeatedly spoken out against the country’s treatment of minorities and have signed a joint resolution urging the Pakistani government to adopt policies to protect religious minorities from persecution.
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