Jammu and Kashmir: Human Rights and Political Situation

Baroness Falkner of Margravine Excerpts

Thursday 23rd July 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

I thank the noble Lord and I am sure, by the way, that we will have dedicated Ministers in this House. The Government are committed to that, but do not be disappointed when I get up to speak for the FCDO. As the noble Lord well knows, the United Kingdom’s long-standing position is that it is for India and Pakistan to find a lasting resolution on Kashmir that takes the wishes of the Kashmiri people into account. It is not for the United Kingdom to prescribe a solution or to act as a mediator; it is for those two countries to come to a solution that satisfies the people.

[Baroness Falkner of Margravine (CB)]

My Lords, the Minister mentioned the wider travel advisory for British nationals not to visit Pakistan, and the noble Lord, Lord Mohammed of Tinsley, immediately replied that they would be visiting in their thousands anyway. Has the Foreign Office reviewed the meaning of travel advisories on a wider level? The country is regularly held to a kind of ransom by unsavoury regimes when their nationals—I say this in quotation marks—are taken hostage or held in unsavoury conditions. While I applaud the work of the consular service of the FCDO, I think the travel advisory system needs broader review.

[Lord Collins of Highbury (Lab)]

I hear the noble Baroness, but the first priority of the FCDO is the safety of British nationals, which we ensure through regular consultation with our missions. Our advice is based on that principle, and our travel advice is reviewed regularly. Sometimes it is amended and it can be nuanced but, at the end of the day, it is up to individuals to consider that advice and take it seriously.