WASHINGTON, Sept 15: Pakistan has taken some steps to improve the treatment of religious minorities in the country, but serious problems remained, observes the US State Department.

In its annual report on religious freedom, the State Department claimed that law-enforcement personnel continued to abuse religious minorities in custody and security forces and other government agencies did not adequately prevent or address societal abuse against minorities.

According to the report, discriminatory legislation and the government’s failure to take action against societal forces hostile to those who practice a different faith fostered religious intolerance, acts of violence, and intimidation against religious minorities.

Specific laws that discriminate against religious minorities include anti-Ahmadi and blasphemy laws that provide the death penalty for defiling Islam or its prophets.

The report noted that the government enacted the Women’s Protection Act, which amended the Hudood Ordinances, by moving rape and adultery cases from the Sharia to secular courts.

President Pervez Musharraf ordered the release of all women imprisoned under the Hudood Ordinances; few remain in custody, and most are housed in government-run group homes.