Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps she is taking to help end (a) abductions, (b) forced conversions and (c) forced marriages of women and girls in Pakistan.

The UK is committed to defending freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) for all, and promoting respect between different religious and non-religious communities. We work with international partners including the UN, G7, and other multilateral fora to promote FoRB. In May 2021, we ensured that FoRB was included in the G7 communiqué for the first time. This year, our Special Envoy for FoRB, Fiona Bruce MP, will Chair the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance to bolster joint international action on FoRB and on 5-6 July 2022, we will host an international Ministerial conference on FoRB. In 2020 and 2021, we continued to protect language on tackling the harmful practice of Child, Early and Forced Marriage by helping secure the adoption by consensus of relevant resolutions at the UN General Assembly and the Human Rights Council.