Pakistan: Freedom of Religion

Hamish Falconer Excerpts

Thursday 28th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs (Hamish Falconer)]

I am grateful to the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) for securing this important debate. I pay tribute to his work as the co-chair of the all-party parliamentary group for international freedom of religion or belief. I know he has been engaged on these issues for some time. I note that the group visited Pakistan last year and published important recommendations for improving the state of freedom of religion. Its commitment to defending the rights of vulnerable communities across the globe does not go unnoticed. I am grateful, too, for the contributions of other hon. Members. I join the shadow Minister in paying tribute to the service of my hon. Friend the Member for Halesowen (Alex Ballinger) in Pakistan. I will respond to the points raised and highlight what the UK is doing to help protect the rights of minorities in Pakistan.

I would like to reassure the House that I was in Pakistan last week. I was the first British Government Minister to visit for some years—more than two, I believe— and, as I understand it, I am the only G7 Minister to have visited Pakistan this year. As the House knows, and has been clear from the debate, Pakistan is an important country, a strategic country, and it is important that we stay engaged in the full range of issues going on in that country. On that note, Madam Deputy Speaker, I hope you will allow me to provide some brief comments on current events in Pakistan.

I am deeply concerned by the reports of loss of life arising from this week’s protests in Islamabad, which I know have been followed very closely in the House. The UK Government support individuals’ rights to protest, and urge the Pakistani authorities to respect those fundamental freedoms. We are closely monitoring the situation, including the potential impact on British nationals. We are concerned by reports that a number of journalists have gone missing following the protests, including Matiullah Jan, a respected Pakistani journalist and a Chevening scholar. The UK remains committed to media freedom and the protection of journalists. We will urge the authorities to ensure the safe return of all journalists.

I also want to express my sincere condolences to all those affected by the abhorrent violence in Kurram over the past week. My thoughts are with the families of those killed and injured. We hope that a peaceful resolution can be reached. We remain in contact with the relevant individuals.

My right hon. Friend the Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell) asked about the situation in relation to the Baloch, in particular the protests led by women in Balochistan. I am aware of reports of enforced disappearances. The UK strongly condemns any instances of extrajudicial killings or enforced disappearances. We urge states to investigate any allegations fully, to prosecute those responsible and to provide justice to victims and their families. We continue to encourage progress towards the criminalisation of enforced disappearances in Pakistan.

Britain has a long relationship with Pakistan founded on our shared history and warm ties between our people. We have heard some of that today. Like my hon. Friend the Member for Halesowen, I served in Pakistan in 2010 when some of the incidents referred to this afternoon occurred, including the concerning incident with Asia Bibi. As I said, last week I had the pleasure of visiting this beautiful country. I met Ministers, businesses and religious leaders. I can reassure the House that in all my engagements I raised some of these important issues.

We know that many minorities in Pakistan face injustices, including structural discrimination, economic exclusion and wider social intolerance. I share Members’ concerns about the increasing misuse of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws. Too often these laws are used to settle personal vendettas, with insufficient evidence or safeguards for those accused. Once an accusation is made, there is a high risk of vigilante violence. For example, in May an elderly Christian man died of his injuries following an assault by a large mob in Punjab. These abhorrent attacks form part of a wider pattern of discrimination and violence towards marginalised religious communities.

[Jim Shannon]

Frequently, when accusations are made—accusations that are often vexatious and malicious, with no evidential basis whatsoever—the police stand by and do nothing to control the mob violence. Could the Minister perhaps take that on board when he next has discussions with the Pakistani Government? We want a Pakistan police force that is independent and applies the same rule of law to everyone, but it is clear that that is not currently the case.

[Hamish Falconer]

I raised the specific question of how policing operates in relation to religious minorities with the Pakistani Minister for Law and Human Rights, the Minister for Interior, and personnel from Pakistan’s security establishment just last week.

Let me now turn to the subject of Ahmadi Muslims in Pakistan, who, as many have pointed out this afternoon, continue to receive threats from extremist groups. Regrettably, a number have been murdered. The practices of forced marriage and conversion are devastating the lives of women and girls from minority religious communities. We in the House should welcome small positive steps, such as an amendment to the Christian Marriage Act 1872 to equalise the age of marriage between Christian boys and girls in Punjab, but more clearly needs to be done to protect the rights of both Muslim and religious minority girls across Pakistan.

Let me now say a little about what the UK is doing to help. This Government recognise the central importance of promoting a more open society in Pakistan. We regularly engage with its Government, with like-minded partners and with other stakeholders to raise concerns and discuss ways of protecting marginalised communities. Generally, our assessment is that private engagement with Pakistan’s authorities is the most effective way to get our messages across. My recent visit was an excellent opportunity to convey those messages to an array of senior Ministers. I met the Human Rights Minister to discuss the importance of promoting religious tolerance and harmony. I highlighted concerns about recent incidents of blasphemy-related violence and the misuse of blasphemy laws. I also raised the issues of forced marriage and conversion, and the Minister assured me that efforts were under way to pass new legislation to help address it. I met the Minister of Interior as well, alongside with the British high commissioner. We underlined concerns about threats of violence towards Ahmadi Muslims, and stressed the need for police protection. Again, we received assurances that the authorities would work harder to protect minority communities.

The hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam (Luke Taylor) expressed concern about his constituents in the UK. While policing is clearly a matter independent from the Government, this Government will do everything—as one would expect—to ensure the freedom of religious belief and ensure that religious minorities feel protected here.

Since my visit, the high commissioner has spoken to the Punjab Minister for Minority Affairs about some of the incidents that have been described this afternoon. She raised concerns regarding extremist threats made against minority groups, including Ahmadi Muslims, and pushed for more action on forced marriage and conversion.

To maximise the impact of our engagements, we co-ordinate closely with the wider international community and work alongside international organisations such as the International Labour Organisation in relation to the forced labour of children in brick kilns, which I even witnessed many years ago when I served in Pakistan.

[Jim Shannon]

Many people whose young female children have been abducted and kidnapped for the purpose of marriage are probably illiterate—I am just being observational here—and do not understand the paperwork in front of them. When our deputation was in Pakistan back in 2023, we suggested that a legal representative should be made available to each of those people to take their cases forward. It is a simple measure, but it would be incredibly effective.

[Hamish Falconer]

I thank the hon. Member for his consideration of these issues. I am happy to write to him in more detail about what we are doing in Pakistan to try to ensure that women and girls, both from minority communities and across the whole of Pakistan, are able to prosecute their rights. Questions about illiteracy are clearly relevant, but I am afraid that a far wider range of issues make it hard for women and girls across Pakistan to assert their full rights.

During my trip, I was pleased to visit Pakistan’s national mosque, the Faisal mosque. I met the Grand Imam, Dr Muhammad Ilyas, and we discussed the importance of promoting interfaith harmony and tolerance. Such engagements are a vital part of the UK’s approach to freedom of religion or belief, a principle that must be supported across all communities in Pakistan.

Members have posed questions about our aid programme, so I will briefly comment on that. Alongside our diplomatic engagement, I am glad that the UK’s targeted aid programmes are helping to protect human rights and boost inclusion. For example, our £47 million accountability and inclusion programme helps to change social behaviour and promote interfaith harmony by encouraging dialogue between influential community leaders. Following the Sargodha attacks in May, the programme prevented further violence by helping to engage with the police to identify tensions and resolve community disputes at the local level. We also raise awareness about the harms of early enforced marriages, and have reached over 35 million people with our messaging to date.

I note the comments from my right hon. Friend the Member for Hayes and Harlington about aid conditionality. We try to ensure that our aid is closely targeted. Where there are concerns, we raise them diplomatically, and our aid programme is an important component of our contribution towards trying to address these issues in Pakistan.

Members also raised the issue of modern slavery. I commend representatives of both Houses for raising awareness of this issue in Pakistan. I saw it with my own eyes during my service, and I know that many Members of the House have seen it too.

We are supporting Pakistan’s Government to improve laws and strengthen related systems in order to protect marginalised and vulnerable groups. We have supported the Pakistani authorities to undertake the first child labour surveys in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Balochistan. The data is being used to shape policies on child bonded labour, including forming systems to protect children. We have also helped set up eight child courts across Pakistan to provide justice for victims of child abuse, child trafficking and child marriage. As these examples show, we are determined to ensure that aid reaches those who need it most.

Let me turn to the points made about the special envoy. I understand that Ministers are considering the role, and we should be in a position to update the House soon. I pay tribute to the previous envoys. As I hope the House can see, this Government will remain focused on these issues, in Pakistan and elsewhere, with or without an envoy.

This Government place freedom of religion or belief at the heart of our work in Pakistan, and it was a major part of my visit last week. Pakistan must be open and tolerant, and we will continue to work with its Government and all key stakeholders, including this House, towards that end.