US cites genocide by IS, curbs in Pakistan and China in report

WASHINGTON:US secretary of state Rex Tillerson, releasing the Donald Trump administration’s first report on international religious freedom on Tuesday, accused the Islamic State (IS) of conducting genocide in areas it controls and named Pakistan and China among a short list of countries that deny their citizens the right to practice their religion or belief.

“To remove any ambiguity from previous statements and reports by the state department … ISIS is clearly responsible for genocide against Yazidis, Christians, and Shia Muslims in areas it controls or has controlled,” Tillerson said, using another acronym for IS.

It could not be immediately determined if Tillerson’s statement suggested change in US policy or an escalation in hostilities against the terrorist outfit.

The top diplomat named IS at the top of his list of “most egregious and troubling” examples of violators of the right to practice religion. Others on his list were Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan, China, Bahrain and Sudan.

“Religious freedom was under attack in Pakistan, where more than two dozen are on death row or serving a life imprisonment for blasphemy,” Tillerson said. “The government marginalises Ahmediya Muslims and refuses to recognize them as Muslim.”

“It’s my hope,” he added, “the new prime minister, his government will promote inter-faith harmony and protect the rights of religious minorities.”

Tillerson did not name India in his list of violators of the right to practice religion, but the annual report noted that “there were reports of religiously motivated killings, assaults, riots, discrimination, vandalism, and … increase in violent incidents by cow protection groups against mostly Muslim victims”.