The United States (US) Secretary of State Antony Blinken has re-designated Pakistan as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for violating religious freedom and also rebranded the Taliban as an Entity of Particular Concern, according to a Dawn news report. The administration of former President Donald Trump first placed Pakistan on this list in December 2018 and retained it in 2020 as well. The Joe Biden administration, which came to power in January this year, has retained the old list with two changes, adding Russia and removing Sudan from the CPC category, said the Dawn news report.

In a statement issued by the State Department on Wednesday, Blinken said, “Each year the Secretary of State has the responsibility to identify governments and non-state actors, who, because of their religious freedom violations, merit designation under the International Religious Freedom Act. I am designating Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, the DPRK, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan as Countries of Particular Concern for having engaged in or tolerated “systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.” DPRK is the official name of North Korea.