Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Pakistani counterpart on the role of that country’s Islamic Council in the persecution of Uyghur Muslims.

The UK remains deeply concerned by the discrimination faced by marginalised religious communities around the world. In Pakistan, we work to promote the rights of religious minorities through diplomatic engagement and programme funding. I raised the issue of religious tolerance when I met with Pakistan's Human Rights Minister when I visited this year. The UK also stands firm on human rights in China, including in Xinjiang, where China continues to persecute and arbitrarily detain Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim minorities. We raise our concerns with China at the highest levels - the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary both raised human rights recently with their Chinese counterparts.