Question to the Home Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the reply by Baroness Williams of Trafford on 15 October (HL Deb, cols 282–3), whether the Home Office will now reclassify the systematic attacks on religious minorities in Pakistan as persecution rather than discrimination.

All asylum and human rights applications from Pakistan nationals are carefully considered on their individual merits in accordance with our international obligations.

Each individual assessment is made against the background of the latest available country of origin information and any relevant caselaw. This is based on evidence taken from a range of reliable sources, including reputable media outlets; local, national and international organisations, including human rights organisations; and information from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Our country policy and information notes on religious groups in Pakistan are published on the gov.uk website and kept under constant review, updated periodically.

If a person can show that they would suffer serious persecution based on their religion on return to Pakistan, then it is likely they would be granted international protection.