Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make representations to the government of Pakistan to encourage it to extend its recent military action against militants to include Lashkar-e-Janghevi.

The UK and Pakistan have a shared interest in the battle against terrorism and we will stand together to tackle terrorism and the extremism that sustains it. The Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) has discussed with Prime Minister Sharif on a number of occasions the Government of Pakistan’s efforts to tackle terrorism. Prime Minister Sharif has pledged that his Government’s counter terrorism activity is directed against all militant groups. The Pakistan authorities have publicly stated that that they intend to tackle terrorists of all hues without any discrimination. We continue to encourage Pakistan to ensure that it takes a comprehensive approach to dealing with terrorists. The UK effort on counter-terrorism is supported by intensive diplomatic work, both bilaterally and multilaterally in concert with key partners such as the United States and the European Union. Collectively, we are working to support the development of strong institutions and machinery of Government in Pakistan to deliver a sustainable approach to countering terrorism and tackling all forms of terrorism.