Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of whether non-Muslim pupils at educational institutions in Pakistan are required to receive Islamic religious education.
The UK Government continues to be concerned about the inclusion of Islamic religious content as part of compulsory subjects in Pakistan's educational institutions. We have asked the Pakistan Government to ensure Islamic religious teachings are restricted to relevant subjects and not included in those where they are not directly related to student learning outcomes. We have also facilitated a coalition of civil society actors that is working with the Pakistan Government to promote inclusion in education. Members of this group have supported the government to develop a curriculum for a new subject of "Religious Studies", which examines Pakistan's five major religions, and which minority students may opt to take instead of Islamic studies.