Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has held discussions with Pakistani authorities on potential incidences of violence against peaceful protestors.

Political protests are an internal matter for the Government of Pakistan. There is no place for violence in politics, and the UK regularly engages the Government of Pakistan at a senior level on the need to uphold the rule of law and respect human rights. On 30 January, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister for South Asia and Minister responsible for Human Rights, discussed the human rights situation with Pakistan's Minister for Human Rights Mian Riaz Hussain Pirzada.