US acts against Pakistan, China for violations of religious freedom

Pakistan and China have been included in the list of “Countries of Particular Concern” (CPC) by the United States for engaging in or tolerating “systematic and egregious violations of religious freedom”.
The US State Department has highlighted both Pakistan and China as CPCs among the 10 countries for their failure to stem the persecution and discrimination of faith groups.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in a statement, said Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, Nigeria, the DPRK, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan have been designated as CPC under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, as amended, for engaging in or tolerating systematic, ongoing, egregious violations of religious freedom.
He further informed that countries – Comoros, Cuba, Nicaragua and Russia have been placed on a Special Watch List for governments that have engaged in or tolerated “severe violations of religious freedom”.
“The United States will continue to work tirelessly to end religiously motivated abuses and persecution around the world, and to help ensure that each person, everywhere, at all times, has the right to live according to the dictates of conscience,” Pompeo said.
Additionally, al-Shabaab, al-Qa’ida, Boko Haram, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Houthis, ISIS, ISIS-Greater Sahara, ISIS-West Africa, Jamaat Nasr al-Islam wal Muslimin, and the Taliban have been designated as “Entities of Particular Concern” under the Frank R. Wolf International Religious Freedom Act of 2016, Pompeo said.
He further said that Sudan and Uzbekistan have been removed from the Special Watch List based on “significant, concrete progress” undertaken by their governments the past year.
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