Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many meetings he has had on violence against women and girls in Pakistan in the last 12 months.

We continue to urge the government of Pakistan to guarantee the rights of all people in Pakistan, particularly the most vulnerable, including women, minorities and children, as laid down in the Constitution of Pakistan and in accordance with international standards. In the last 12 months, the UK Government has regularly raised the issue of violence against women and girls. Lord Ahmad, as the Minister for South Asia and Minister for Human Rights, last raised our concerns about the human rights situation on 23 June, in his first meeting with Hina Rabbani Khar, Pakistan's Minister for Foreign Affairs. On 17 June, the British High Commissioner in Islamabad met with Federal Minister for Human Rights Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada. They discussed issues including forced conversion and child marriage blasphemy laws. Also in June, the British High Commissioner raised forced conversions and forced marriages with Governor of Punjab, Baligh ur Rehman. Domestic violence against women and girls in Pakistan is a focus area in the British High Commission Gender Strategy. We will continue to raise it at the highest levels and we are closely tracking progress on the Domestic Violence bill in Pakistan.