The US Commission on International Religious Freedom has dubbed India and Pakistan as countries where 'grave violations' of religious freedom persist necessitating close monitoring of events.
In a letter to Secretary of State Collin Powell on Thursday, the commission said grave violations of religious freedom continued in India, Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam like the previous year and called upon the state department to closely monitor events in those countries.
But unlike China and eight other countries, which were termed 'countries of particular concern', the commission did not specify reasons for labelling India in the slot.
Citing increase in violations of religious freedom in China and Sudan during the past year, the commission dubbed them along with seven other countries as the 'world's worst religious freedom violators' for US action under the 'international religious freedom act'.
The commission criticised China for the crackdown on the Falun Gong group and the arrest of 35 members of the Roman Catholic church, while in Sudan it found that religion and religious freedom violations were intertwined with other human rights and humanitarian abuses.