Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Chapman of Darlington (HL12023), whether they will now answer the question put: namely, what verification of education materials funded through UK aid in Pakistan has been undertaken; whether it has been verified that those materials meet UNESCO standards of peace, tolerance, and equality; and what plans they have to publish the outcome of any such verification.

As I stated in my response to Question HL11399, all our education programmes in Pakistan are subject to due diligence, and any materials provided under those programmes are reviewed for equity across gender, ability, ethnicity, and religion before being shared with government counterparts.

On the broader issue of textbooks used in Pakistani schools, we are clear that any incitement to hatred or violence is unacceptable and has no place in education, and we urge the Pakistani authorities to ensure that all teaching materials used in their schools meet the relevant United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) standards.