Asked by: Lord Wigley (Plaid Cymru - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what recent discussions they have had with the government of Pakistan regarding attacks on Ahmadiyya Muslim mosques.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK condemns the continued persecution of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community in Pakistan and this is regularly raised in our meetings with the Pakistani authorities. On 22 March I met with Pakistan's newly-appointed Foreign Secretary Ishaq Dar to discuss the rights of religious minorities in Pakistan. I raised attacks on Ahmadiyya Muslim mosques with Pakistan's caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani on 13 September and in a letter of 5 October in 2023. On 7 March, the UK formally registered concerns with the Pakistan High Commission, condemning all incidents of hate speech directed towards Ahmadi Muslims, the desecration of Ahmadi mosques, and violence against Ahmadi individuals. In my letter to the newly-appointed Human Rights Minister in March, I underlined the UK's commitment to protecting religious minorities and urged the government of Pakistan to condemn any instances of hate directed towards Ahmadi Muslims and other marginalised religious communities.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 11 March (HL2717), whether they will specifically raise with the government of Pakistan why Ahmadi Muslims were not included on the single electoral list with all other voters in the recent elections in that country.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
On 22 March I met with Pakistan's newly-appointed Foreign Secretary Ishaq Dar to discuss the inclusivity of the elections and the rights of religious minorities. We will continue to raise human rights issues affecting the Ahmadiyya Muslim community in engagements with the new government and reaffirm the importance of Pakistan respecting the voting rights of all religious communities.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Pakistan concerning the denial of the right to vote as Muslims of Ahmadi Muslims in the 2024 elections in that country.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
In his statement of 9 February, the Foreign Secretary recognised serious concerns about the inclusivity of Pakistan's elections and stressed the need for the new government to represent the interests of all Pakistan's citizens and communities. The UK advocates against any measures which restrict an individual's right to vote, including discriminatory measures used against religious minority communities such as the Ahmadiyya Muslim community. On 19 January, I raised the need for inclusivity in the elections with Pakistan's Caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani. On 25 September 2023, the former Foreign Secretary raised the importance of credible, inclusive and timely elections with Pakistan's Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-haq Kakar. On 21 August, I wrote to Foreign Minister Jilani to raise concerns about the treatment of minority religious communities and underline the need to ensure all Pakistan's citizens, including Ahmadi Muslims, are able to exercise their democratic rights.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of Ahmadis who will be excluded from voting in the forthcoming Pakistan elections because of their refusal to renounce their religious beliefs in order to qualify for the franchise.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK advocates for inclusive elections, through which all of Pakistan's citizens can exercise their democratic rights. We advocate against any measures which restrict an individual's right to vote, including discriminatory measures used against religious minority communities, including the Ahmadiyya Muslim community. The 2021 Home Office country report outlines that there are no reliable estimates of the total number of Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan, many boycott the census as they are not able to self-identify as Muslim. Available information indicates the population is between 187,000 (official 2017 census results) and 600,000 (community sources), though some estimates suggest numbers as high as 4 million. On the 1 February, Ahmadiyya community spokesperson Amir Mahmood stated that the community has decided to disassociate from the upcoming general election on the 8 February, due to the use of a separate voter list which is prepared only for Ahmadi citizens and excludes them from the general voter list, unlike any other community.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps he is taking to ensure the safety and religious freedom of Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
Protecting and promoting freedom of religion or belief remains central to the UK government's human rights engagement in Pakistan. Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State for South Asia and Minister responsible for Human Rights, raised the treatment of Ahmadi Muslims with then-Minister for Human Rights Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada on 27 June. On 14 December 2022, Lord Ahmad also discussed the need to promote respect for all religions with then-Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. In May, the UK Political Counsellor visited Rabwah to discuss the challenges faced by the Ahmadiyya Muslim community.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she has made an assessment of the threat posed by potential hate preachers supporting the persecution of and attacks on the Ahmadiyya Muslim community in the UK; and whether her Department holds data on the number of visas refused due to the individual supporting the persecution of Ahmadiyyas.
Answered by Tom Tugendhat - Minister of State (Home Office) (Security)
The Government is committed to tackling those who spread views that promote violence and hatred against individuals and communities in our society, particularly minority groups. We assess all evidence of those that support for or justify violence and will not tolerate those who spread divisive and harmful narratives.
We are aware of hate preachers and wider organisations in the UK who spread such harmful and inflammatory narratives against the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. Such narratives have called for the boycott and even death of Ahmadi Muslims. We are continuing to work with law enforcement agencies and multi-agency partners to ensure this is appropriately tackled and that we continue to increase our understanding of this threat.
Information on the reasons why visas have been refused is not available without a manual search of individual records.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of Pakistan about the murder of an Ahmadi doctor, Mr Rashid Ahmed, on 19 February in Gutriala, Gujarat; when they last raised the topic of attacks on Ahmadis with that government; and what response they received.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The murder of Mr Rasheed Ahmad in Gujarat on 19 February is the latest incident in a worsening trend of persecution and targeting of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community in Pakistan. I [Lord Ahmad] raised the treatment of Ahmadi Muslims with Pakistan's Minister for Human Rights, Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada, on 30 January. On 9 January, Minister of State for Development Andrew Mitchell raised this issue with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The British High Commission in Islamabad continues to engage at a senior level with government representatives and civil society; the UK Political Counsellor discussed the matter with Caretaker Chief Minister of Punjab, Mohsin Naqvi, on 20 February.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Pakistan concerning reports that police have destroyed the minarets of the Mosque of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Moti Bazaar Wazirabad; and what response they received.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Protecting freedom of religion or belief for minority communities is central to the UK Government's human rights engagement in Pakistan. Minister for Development Andrew Mitchell raised the treatment of Ahmadi Muslims with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on 9 January. On 14 December 2022, I raised this issue with Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. The British High Commission in Islamabad continues to engage at a senior level with government representatives and civil society; the High Commissioner raised the matter with Minister of State Hina Rabbani Khar on 4 January.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his international counterparts on tackling anti-Muslim hatred.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We remain deeply concerned by violations and abuses of freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) in many parts of the world, including intolerance and hate speech. The UK is committed to working with our international partners to protect the right to FoRB for all through adherence to FoRB-focussed resolutions which enjoy consensus agreement, including those led by the EU and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, as well as multilateral engagement through the UN, Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). In July this year we hosted an international Ministerial conference on FoRB, bringing together over 800 faith and belief leaders and human rights actors, and 100 government delegations to agree action to promote and protect FoRB. Ministers and officials regularly raise specific cases of concern with those we believe are not meeting their obligations, and in March this year we led development of an International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance statement ( https://www.state.gov/irfba-statement-on-the-ahmadiyya-muslim-community/ ) calling out persecution of Ahmadi Muslims.
Asked by: Hilary Benn (Labour - Leeds Central)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made any representations to his Pakistani counterpart on the killing of Mr Naseer Ahmad who was a member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community in Pakistan.
Answered by Gillian Keegan - Secretary of State for Education
The UK condemns discrimination and violence against religious communities in Pakistan, including against the Ahmadiyya Muslim community. Lord Ahmad publicly condemned the murders of Naseer Ahmad, in Rabwah, in August, and of Abdus Salam, in Punjab Province, in May. The British High Commissioner in Islamabad raised Mr. Salam's death with Pakistan's Human Rights Minister Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada. We continue to urge the Government of Pakistan at senior levels to guarantee the fundamental rights of all its citizens, regardless of their belief.