Sam Brownback, the U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom, criticized Sudan’s government amid protests against longtime President Omar al-Bashir during an interview with The Associated Press. The U.S. put Pakistan on its religious freedom blacklist in December, though U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo held back on imposing sanctions on the U.S.-allied nation. Brownback told the AP he met with Pakistan’s foreign minister, who promised to appoint a point person to handle the U.S. concerns. However, he acknowledged the limits of religious freedom in the UAE as proselytizing by non-Muslims remains illegal. President Donald Trump picked Brownback to serve as the U.S. ambassador-at-large for religious freedom in 2017, though he only became ambassador in 2018.

Source: National Post February 24, 2019 13:56 UTC