Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with his Pakistani counterpart on the alleged persecution of Ahmadi Muslims in that country.

Protecting freedom of religion or belief for minority communities is 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 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. Lord Ahmad also raised the matter with Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on 14 December 2022, and with Ministry of Interior officials on 8 December 2022.