Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to protect and promote freedom of religion and belief in Pakistan.

Promoting the right to Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) for all is one of the UK's longstanding human rights priorities. On 16 August, the Minister for South Asia, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, wrote to Pakistan's caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani, urging the government to ensure the safety of Pakistan's Christian community following the attacks in Jaranwala. On 6 September Lord Ahmad publicly condemned the most recent attack on an Ahmadiyya mosque in Karachi. He has called for those responsible for attacks on religious minorities to be brought to justice. On 6 September Lord Ahmad condemned these attacks in his meeting with the Pakistani High Commissioner.