Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether the Government has authorised any export licences for military equipment or dual-use items to Pakistan that could be used in drone operations or internal security actions in Balochistan.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK remains deeply concerned by reports of human rights abuses in Pakistan, including in Balochistan. Advocating for civil and political rights is a core part of the UK's diplomatic engagement with Pakistan. To that end, the Minister of State for the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan has raised human rights issues on several occasions with Ministers in Pakistan. We will continue to urge the Government of Pakistan to guarantee the rights of all people in Pakistan in accordance with its constitution and international standards.
All export licences for military and dual-use equipment are assessed on a case-by-case basis against our Strategic Export Licensing Criteria. Once granted, all our licences are kept under close and continual review and can be revoked or suspended if necessary.
As our most recent data on export licences show, last year licences have been refused to Pakistan both where there has been a risk of diversion for an undesirable end use, and due to concerns the items may be used to commit or facilitate internal repression.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Labour - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the level of the risk that UK-supplied equipment could contribute to human rights violations in Balochistan.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The UK remains deeply concerned by reports of human rights abuses in Pakistan, including in Balochistan. Advocating for civil and political rights is a core part of the UK's diplomatic engagement with Pakistan. To that end, the Minister of State for the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan has raised human rights issues on several occasions with Ministers in Pakistan. We will continue to urge the Government of Pakistan to guarantee the rights of all people in Pakistan in accordance with its constitution and international standards.
All export licences for military and dual-use equipment are assessed on a case-by-case basis against our Strategic Export Licensing Criteria. Once granted, all our licences are kept under close and continual review and can be revoked or suspended if necessary.
As our most recent data on export licences show, last year licences have been refused to Pakistan both where there has been a risk of diversion for an undesirable end use, and due to concerns the items may be used to commit or facilitate internal repression.