South Asia: Minority Faith Communities

Lord Sahota Excerpts

Monday 28th October 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Sahota (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Ahmad, for bringing this short debate to the House.

I want to bring to your Lordships’ attention the plight of the Sikh community in Pakistan. As we all know, after the partition of India in 1947, most of the Sikhs living on the Pakistani side moved to the Indian side, but a very small number of them decided to stay in Pakistan. It is estimated that there are around 50,000 to 60,000 Sikhs living in Pakistan at this moment. The Pakistani constitution is very firm that every minority faith should be treated equally and is entitled to the protection of the law.

After the 1947 partition, most of the Sikh historical places of worship, the gurdwara—such as the birthplace of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the founder of the Sikh religion —ended up on the Pakistani side. As your Lordships can imagine, there is always a steady stream of Sikh religious pilgrims making their way to Pakistan from the UK, North America and other countries. The Pakistani Government very kindly always issue visas for these religious pilgrims. Last February, my wife and about 50 others, in a group from UK, had the honour of making this pilgrimage. It was something that she had always wanted to do, and she found the experience most fulfilling.

At every gurdwara, my wife stopped to talk to the female workers about their lives and experience of living in Pakistan. I have to say that she was upset and disappointed to hear some of their answers. They said that they were treated by the locals as second-class citizens, and that at school, their children were taunted as non-believers. They are an easy target of local religious fanatics. They are constantly under pressure to convert to Islam, with forced marriages and the conversion of underage girls. Quite recently, in the Peshawar area, 12 Sikhs were killed. There is a controversial blasphemy law which affects most of the minority communities. There is a general feeling of lack of security for them. Like I said, the Pakistani constitution is quite firm on equality for all faiths, but sometimes what happens on the ground and in the small villages is quite different from what the law says.

Sikhs mostly keep a low profile in this monolithic Muslim country. There have been reports of Muslim mobs attacking gurdwaras. The UK Government describe Pakistan as an

“important regional and strategic partner”,

with a relationship based on

“culture, shared history, diplomacy, development, security, trade, and the economy”.

In 2023-24, the UK provided about £42 million to Pakistan for development. Given our close relationship with Pakistan, it would not be unfair to ask it to provide extra security for its minority Sikh community, given that our new Labour Government’s policy states that they will champion the freedom of religion and belief for all.

Foreign Affairs

Lord Sahota Excerpts

Tuesday 5th March 2024 Lords Chamber

[Lord Sahota (Lab)]

My Lords, I will make just two points. Like everyone else, I wish there were no wars in the world. I wish we could all live in peace and harmony, and that we did not have to watch night after night on our TV screens humanity tearing itself apart around the world. That is just wishful thinking, so let me return to the real world.

At this moment, we have conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine. Ukrainians are fighting for the survival of their country against a tyrant, Putin. Along with the US and other European countries, we are standing with Ukraine. The way things are going, in spite of all our help and efforts, its looks as if the tyrant might prevail. President Macron alluded to the fact that NATO might consider sending troops to Ukraine. This proposal was immediately shot down by everyone, including our Government. Have our Government and NATO considered another option—something that NATO did in the war in the Balkans in the 1990s to bring another tyrant, President Milošević of Serbia, to his senses? I suggest that NATO considers provide air cover on Ukraine soil only, to protect the troops on the ground and to keep the Russian troops away from Ukraine borders. Like I said, NATO has done it before, so why not consider it again in Ukraine? It is a bit drastic, but a thought.

I will move on to Gaza. What happened on Israel’s soil on 7 October was horrendous. My heart goes out to all the victims of Hamas, a terrorist organisation. The State of Israel has the right to protect its borders and its citizens, but what it is doing in Gaza now to men, women and children is beyond description and disproportionate. I totally condemn it.

This point is historical. I do not mean to reopen old colonial wounds, but after the First World War the British Government had a mandate from the League of Nations to sort out the question of Palestine and leave peacefully with both communities, Jews and Arabs, living in harmony, side by side. We failed on that count and left in a hurry.

Even now, the British Government bear a moral obligation—I think the noble Baroness, Lady Mobarik, used those words—towards the Palestine conflict, stemming from their historical involvement following the 1947 withdrawal. We left behind a complex and unresolved situation that resulted in decades of conflict and bloodshed on both sides, and immense suffering for the Palestinians. Millions of them became stateless refugees in neighbouring countries. As a former colonial power, Britain has a moral responsibility to advocate for a just resolution by acknowledging the consequences of its past actions and engaging diplomatically as the main power, and by providing further humanitarian aid and supporting a peaceful solution. Addressing this long-standing issue aligns with British values of justice, compassion and international responsibility, and would foster stability and hope in the region.

Mr Jagtar Singh Johal

Lord Sahota Excerpts

Tuesday 12th September 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, I did not sort of indicate; I was quite specific: a fair trial is required. It is protected by the constitution of India and the independence of its judicial system. The noble Baroness is quite right that the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has issued a specific opinion about Mr Johal. We take that very seriously and have consistently raised those direct concerns about Mr Johal’s treatment with the Indian authorities. However, as the noble Baroness will know from her own experience, it is now for India to reply formally to that particular opinion.

[Lord Sahota (Lab)]

My Lords, after the Prime Minister raised the issue of Mr Johal with the Indian Prime Minister, have the Government given any feedback to Mr Johal’s family in Scotland? Secondly, do the Government think that Mr Johal is a political prisoner?

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

My Lords, I am not going to speculate on or respond to the noble Lord’s second question. This is not about politicising; it is a matter for the Indian authorities. They will be following a due process. As I have said before, I have directly raised the issues and concerns raised by the Johal family. It is not just me; my right honourable friends the Foreign Secretary and the Prime Minister have done so. As I said in my Answer, the important thing is to ensure that there is a fair trial. Where allegations are made of mistreatment, we will raise them directly. We have a constructive engagement with the Government of India, which allows us to raise these key points and messages directly and candidly.

Russia: Sanctions

Lord Sahota Excerpts

Monday 11th September 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Robathan (Con)]

My Lords—

[Lord Sahota (Lab)]

My Lords—

[Baroness Williams of Trafford (Con)]

My Lords, we will let my noble friend ask his question and then we will go over to the noble Lord, Lord Sahota.

[Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon (Con)]

I agree with my noble friend that we all want—I think I speak for the whole House—to get Russia to pay for its war on Ukraine. At the time of the invasion, the UK sanctioned 129 oligarchs who have a combined net worth of around £145 billion. As I said earlier, we have frozen £18 billion-worth of Russian assets under the regime. The UK has also set up specialist agencies in the NCA and, as I said earlier, we are working with key partners. Legal hurdles need to be addressed, but we are not doing that alone—other partner countries are also looking to allow those assets, now that they are frozen, to be moved across. Ultimately, when the war ends, we can use the money from those assets in the reconstruction of Ukraine.

[Lord Sahota (Lab)]

My Lords, the Prime Minister signed a joint declaration at G20 which did not condemn the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Is the Government going soft on Russia now?