美國將巴基斯坦列入嚴重侵犯宗教自由的“特別觀察名單”

The U.S. State Department has placed Pakistan on a “Special Watch List” for "severe violations of religious freedom," at the same time it announced cuts to security assistance to that country.

"The protection of religious freedom is vital to peace, stability, and prosperity. These designations are aimed at improving the respect for religious freedom in these countries," a State Department statement said on Thursday, as the United States re-designated 10 other nations as "countries of particular concern" under the International Religious Freedom Act.

State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert confirmed on Thursday that Washington is suspending security assistance to Pakistan till Islamabad takes actions against terrorist organizations, including the Haqqani Network.

Earlier this week, the White House said Islamabad would have to do more to combat terrorism to receive U.S. aid. The Pakistani ambassador to Washington, Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, while speaking to VOA, called for the two countries to remain engaged with each other and avoid steps that could create tensions and destabilize the region.美國宣佈切斷向巴基斯坦提供安全援助的同時，國務院將巴基斯坦列入“嚴重侵犯宗教自由”的“特別觀察名單”。

國務院星期四的一份宣告說：“保護宗教自由對和平、穩定與繁榮至關重要。將這些國家列入名單是為了提高它們對宗教自由的尊重。”美國還根據國際宗教自由法案將另外10個國家列為特別關注國家。

美國國務院發言人諾爾特星期四確認，美國暫時停止向巴基斯坦提供安全援助，直至巴基斯坦對包括哈卡尼網路在內的恐怖組織採取行動。

白宮本星期早些時候說，巴基斯坦如果希望繼續得到美國援助，必須做出更大的努力打擊恐怖主義。巴基斯坦駐美國大使喬德里接受美國之音採訪時呼籲兩國繼續保持接觸，避免採取會導致地區緊張和不穩定的行動。