Pakistan: Freedom of Religion

Debate between Paul Kohler and Helen Maguire

Thursday 28th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Mr Paul Kohler (Wimbledon) (LD)]

I thank the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) for securing the debate, and am grateful to him and other Members for their excellent contributions.

Pakistan’s constitution enshrines the right of every citizen to

“profess, practice and propagate his religion”,

and in January, the Minister of Foreign Affairs went as far as to claim:

“Pakistan has undertaken wide ranging measures to promote religious freedom and protect minority rights.”

That is sadly and simply untrue. In the face of forced conversions and mob violence, the Pakistani Government are far too often failing to fulfil their basic duty of protecting their citizens.

Even more seriously, there is widespread evidence of the state actively supporting the discrimination of certain religious minorities, including Shi’a Muslims, Christians and Hindus, with laws against blasphemy in particular being used to undermine their human rights and freedoms. Today, however, I will focus on the Ahmadi Muslim community, who are subject to some of the most serious discrimination.

I am proud that many in the Ahmadi Muslim community live and/or worship in my constituency, which is home to Morden’s magnificent Baitul Futuh mosque, the largest mosque in the UK and the worldwide headquarters of the faith. It is from there that the caliph’s regular Friday sermon is televised live throughout the world, but while Ahmadi Muslims can practise in freedom in this country, that is sadly not the case for those watching and listening to him in Pakistan. I have heard from the mosque and from many of my constituents about the persecution that their community faces on a daily basis in Pakistan. In their mosques, their homes and their businesses, Ahmadi Muslims are facing persecution merely for observing their faith.

[Helen Maguire (Epsom and Ewell) (LD)]

I also have a number of Ahmadiyya Muslims in Epsom and Ewell, and it was really shameful that this faith group had to move its home to the UK to avoid exactly this persecution. Does my hon. Friend agree that all religious groups in Pakistan should have the freedom to practise their faith, and that we in this House should be a voice for the persecuted?

[Mr Kohler]

I completely agree. We have an absolute duty to enforce that and make sure that happens.

The Pakistani Government are doing more than just turning a blind eye to this discrimination, with the state actively seeking to marginalise the Ahmadi Muslim community. Unless Ahmadi Muslims declare themselves to be non-Muslims, they are not permitted to stand for office or vote—they are denied a voice in the system that is meant to uphold their rights. It is important to note that this was not always the case: for example, the first Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Sir Chaudhry Zafarullah Khan, was an Ahmadi Muslim. Sadly, however, Ahmadi Muslim freedoms have been undermined by the Pakistani Government over time, but that does not mean that those rights cannot be restored.

For that reason, our Government should be speaking more loudly on this issue. The UK is Pakistan’s third largest trading partner and its largest in Europe. We are consequently not without influence. Disenfranchised and marginalised Pakistani Ahmadi Muslims have very few options at their disposal. It is therefore our duty to raise our voices, and for the Government to do what they can to help protect their rights and those of other religious minorities. I consequently echo my party leader’s calls last year to reconsider Pakistan’s trade preferences. I also hope the Government will work with Ahmadi Muslim refugees across the world and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to preserve those refugees’ safety. As Gladstone said in 1877:

“Nonconformity supplies the backbone of English Liberalism.”

The Government must do what they can to continue this country’s proud liberal tradition, protecting the rights of the Ahmadi Muslims and other religious minorities in Pakistan.