The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom again has recommended that the State Department designate Pakistan as a “Country of Particular Concern,” citing the country’s blasphemy laws as a prime source religious freedom violations.
The U.S. State Department does not accept all USCIRF recommendations in its annual designation of countries that practice or tolerate egregious religious freedom violations, but it has designated Pakistan as a CPC every year since 2018.
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Pakistan continues to witness widespread abuses of religious freedom, including blasphemy laws, forced conversions of minority girls, and targeted violence against religious minorities, according to the 2024 USCIRF report.
Pakistan ranked seventh on Open Doors’ 2024 World Watch List of the most difficult places to be a Christian, as it was the previous year.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written and originally published by Morning Star News.