US commission: Cite Afghanistan for religious persecution

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Afghanistan must join the list of violators “worst from the worst” from religious freedom after the return of the Taliban to power, the US advisory agency recommends to the Department of Foreign Affairs.

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom, in its annual report issued Monday, said minority religion had “faced harassment, detention and even death due to their faith or belief” since the Taliban benefited its harsh interpretation of Sunni Islam in Afghanistan. This was also quoted by attacks on the religious minority by the affiliation of the Islamic State which is an enemy of the Taliban.

Afghanistan is among the 15 countries which according to the commission must be in the list of countries that are of special concern.” The commission, in the summary of its report, defines this as the government as “worst of the worst” in tolerance or involved in “systematic, sustainable and terrible violations of religious freedom.”

Commission, which was made in 1998 under the Law on International Religious Freedom, made policy recommendations that were not binding to administration and congress. The Department of Foreign Affairs has adopted several but not all recommendations in the past.

In a new report, the Commission recommends to maintain 10 countries at this time on the list of foreign departments, including China, Eritrea, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.

It also recommends adding four more besides Afghanistan – India, Nigeria, Syria and Vietnam. The commission criticized the Biden administration for removing Nigeria from last year’s list.

The report said that in Afghanistan, many Jewish minorities, Hinduism and Sikh had fled from the country after the Taliban returned to power. It is said that many members of other religious minorities, such as Ahmadiya Muslims, Baha’is and Christians who repent worship in secret for fear of persecution.

Many minority religions fled from Afghanistan for fear of what could happen under the Taliban, not in response to certain actions or decree issued by the Taliban. Some Sikh people still live and worship in Kabul, and the report noted that the Taliban representatives visited Sikh Gurdwara or House of Worship to convince them about their safety. But the report said many SIKH and Hinduism had fled to India “due to lack of safety and security.”