In recent years, USCIRF has reported declining religious freedom conditions in India, as the government continues to enforce and strengthen legislation that disproportionately impacts religious minorities, including anti-conversion and cow slaughter laws. These laws often target Muslim and Chrisitan communities. In its 2025 annual report, USCIRF recommended that the U.S. Department of State designate India as a Country of Particular Concern. 

On today’s episode of the USCIRF Spotlight Podcast, USCIRF Chair Stephen Schneck joins Senior Policy Analyst Sema Hasan to discuss the decline of religious freedom in India with particular focus on legislation.

Read USCIRF’s 2025 Annual Report Chapter on India and USCIRF’s most recent India Country Update.

USCIRF Alarmed by Repatriation of Afghan Refugees

Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), is alarmed by the Pakistani government’s rapid and ongoing repatriation of Afghan refugees to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. This is the latest phase in a repatriation process that began in October 2023, and since March 2025 alone, Pakistan has repatriated an estimated 80,000 Afghans. Recently, Pakistan extended its deadline for undocumented Afghans to leave the country by April 30, including those seeking resettlement to the United States.

“The situation in Afghanistan remains dire for those who do not share the Taliban’s strict interpretation of Islam, including Christians, Shi’a Hazara, Ahmadiyya Muslims, and Sikhs,” said USCIRF Chair Stephen Schneck. “We are deeply concerned that religious minority communities will be in grave danger, especially women and girls, as Taliban officials seek retaliation against Afghans returned by the Pakistani government’s forced and accelerated repatriation efforts.” 

Following the 2021 Taliban takeover, tens of thousands of Afghans fled persecution. In 2022, the United States granted a number of Afghans temporary protective status (TPS), which provides protection for these individuals from being returned to Afghanistan as conditions prevent them from returning safely. USCIRF is concerned by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s announcement to not extend TPS for Afghans residing in the United States, currently set to expire on May 20.

In addition to those individuals that fled, the small number of religious minorities that remain in Afghanistan have been forced to practice their faith in secret, for fear of retribution. At particular risk are Afghan Christians and other converts from Islam, whom the Taliban deem “apostates,” and therefore punishable by death. Afghanistan’s Shi’a Hazara community also faces ongoing persecution and violent attacks by the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISIS-K).  

"The Taliban regime has created terrible circumstances that put Afghan religious minorities at risk of severe persecution, including corporal punishment and arbitrary detention,” said USCIRF Vice Chair Meir Soloveichik. “We urge the administration to impose targeted sanctions on Taliban officials responsible for religious freedom violations.”  

In March 2025, USCIRF held a hearing on religious freedom conditions in Afghanistan. In its 2025 Annual Report, USCIRF recommended that U.S. Department of State designate Afghanistan and Pakistan as “Countries of Particular Concern,” or CPCs, for engaging in systematic, egregious, and ongoing violations of religious freedom. 

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The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan legislative branch agency established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze, and report on religious freedom abroad. USCIRF makes foreign policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion and belief. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected].

USCIRF Condemns Attack in Kashmir

Washington D.C. – The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) strongly condemns the attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir that claimed the lives of 26 people, including 25 Indian citizens and one Nepalese national. On April 22, gunmen attacked a group of tourists, most of whom were Hindu men. The perpetrators reportedly asked their victims to recite an Islamic verse, those who were unable to recite it were killed. 

“This horrifying attack, predominately against Hindus, marks a blatant and egregious targeting of individuals based on their religious beliefs,” said Chair Stephen Schneck. “Our thoughts are with the victims’ families, and we urge authorities to hold those responsible for the attack accountable, while also taking measures to prevent retaliation against Kashmiri Muslims.”

India and Pakistan both claim parts of Kashmir, which holds a Muslim majority population. Pahalgam, where the recent attack took place, is a mountainous region located in Indian-administered Kashmir. Tensions in the region have increased since 2019, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government revoked Article 370 of India’s constitution, which had granted Kashmir constitutional autonomy. The revocation split the state into two federally administered territories under the control of New Delhi, a move that sparked widespread protests. The recent attack is one of the deadliest that Kashmir has experienced in the last few years. The last major attack occurred in June 2024, when an attack on a bus carrying Hindu pilgrims resulted in the death of nine people. 

“We are deeply concerned by the explicit targeting of Hindus and other non-Muslims,” said Commissioner Vicky Hartzler. “We urge the U.S. government to continue to deepen its leadership and engagement on religious freedom to ensure that all individuals are able to freely practice their faith without fear of attack or retribution.”

USCIRF previously expressed concern about the state of religious freedom in Jammu and Kashmir following the 2019 revocation of Article 370. In its 2024 Annual Report, USCIRF reported on the detention of Kashmiri journalists and human rights defenders focused on religious freedom issues.

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The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze, and report on religious freedom abroad. USCIRF makes foreign policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion and belief. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected].