Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Pakistani counterpart on the introduction of legislation to tackle forced conversion.

The UK Government strongly condemns the forced marriage and forced conversion of women and girls in Pakistan. We regularly raise our concerns on these issues with the Government of Pakistan. Most recently, the Minister responsible for Human Rights, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, raised our human rights concerns, including Freedom of Religion or Belief, with Pakistan's Special Representative for Religious Harmony, Tahir Ashrafi, on 23 March 2021. Lord Ahmad also raised these concerns with Pakistan's Minister for Human Rights, Dr Shireen Mazari, on 20 February 2021. Pakistan remains a FCDO Human Rights Priority Country.