The US has criticised the “persecution” of religious minorities in Pakistan by both the government and terrorists. The US Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, Samuel Brownback, told the Security Council on Thursday: “In Pakistan, religious minorities continue to suffer from persecution, either at the hands of non-state actors or through discriminatory laws and policies.”

“Non-state actors” is a reference to terrorist groups that have attacked religious minorities, including the members of the Ahmadiyya and Sufi sects of Islam. He was speaking in August at an informal Council session on the safety and security of religious minorities in conflict that was convened by Poland, which heads the Council this month, and presided over by the country’s Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz. Brownback said he appreciated Poland inviting Naveed Walter, the President of Human Rights Focus Pakistan, “to speak today about the challenges to religious freedom in Pakistan”.