“Christian groups said police supported the mob who disrupted their worship services on suspicion of proselytizing,” the report said.
In its annual report on religious freedom, the 2023 International Religious Freedom Report, the U.S. State Department expressed serious concerns about the treatment of religious minorities in Pakistan and India.
The report highlights the alarming situation faced by Muslims and Christians in India. Discrimination against minority communities is widespread in the neighbouring country, according to the report released on Wednesday.
In February, some 20,000 Christians gathered in New Delhi to protest against increasing violence, and 93 former senior Indian officials wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing concern about widespread harassment of Christians by senior officials.
The report highlighted cases of Muslims and Christians being arrested under anti-conversion laws and subjected to harassment on false charges.
“Christians and Muslims were arrested under laws banning forced religious conversion, which religious groups said was sometimes used to harass and imprison members of religious minority groups on false and trumped-up charges or for engaging in legitimate religious practices,” the report said.
“In some cases, Christian groups claim that local police have supported mobs that disrupted worship services due to suspected proselytizing activities, or stood by while mobs attacked Christians, then arrested the victims on charges of proselytizing.”
Incidents of violence against Christians have been escalating across India. The actions and statements of BJP members are often at odds with positive statements from government officials. The Indian government has been called upon to investigate and take legal action against those responsible for violence against minority groups.
However, international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) such as Human Rights Watch (HRW) have warned that “the actions and statements made by his (Modi’s) BJP members and supporters are [Bharatiya Janata Party] “This contradicts positive statements from government officials,” the report said. It also said the government should investigate and prosecute those responsible for acts of violence against members of minority groups.”
The National Crime Records Bureau reported 272 incidents of sectarian violence in 2022. Attacks on minorities, including murders and intimidation, occurred across different states in India.
“Attacks against members of religious minority groups, including murders, assaults, and intimidation, occurred in various states throughout the year, including cases of ‘cow vigilantes’ based on allegations that Muslim men were involved in cow slaughter and beef trade,” the report said.
U.S. officials continue to express concerns to Indian authorities about religious freedom issues.
329 people charged with blasphemy in Pakistan
The situation is equally alarming in Pakistan: 329 people were charged with blasphemy in 2023, of which 75% were Muslims, 20% Ahmadis and 3.3% Christians.
Federal investigators have arrested 140 people on suspicion of blasphemy on social media, giving death sentences to 11 of them, two of whose sentences have been confirmed by higher courts.
The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority scaled back Wikipedia services over blasphemous content, and social media platforms blocked more than 71,000 URLs at the government’s request. In August, the Senate passed a bill to strengthen penalties for blasphemy.
Violent attacks by militant sectarian groups have targeted religious gatherings and buildings. These attackers, many of whom are anonymous, have victimized members of Hindu, Christian, Ahmadi, Sikh, Sunni and Shiite communities.
In 2023, at least 16 people were killed because of their faith, including seven Shiites, four Sikhs, three Christians, one Hindu and one Ahmadi.
“On December 29, 2023, the Secretary of State redesignated Pakistan as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, as amended, for engaging in or condoning serious violations of religious freedom and waived the sanctions associated with the designation in the U.S. national interest. Pakistan was first designated a CPC in 2018,” the statement said.
