Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential implications for his policies of reports of (a) abduction, forced conversion, and marriage of minor Hindu girls and (b) systemic discrimination against Hindu minorities in Pakistan.

The UK is committed to tackling the forced marriage and conversion of women and girls in Pakistan, including Hindu women and girls. I raised this issue with Pakistan's Human Rights Minister in November, and the British High Commission continues to advocate for new laws to end child and forced marriage and forced conversion. Through supporting policy reform and community empowerment, UK programming is also helping to tackle the discrimination faced by marginalised communities. The Aawaz II programme convenes influential community and faith leaders and minority representatives, including from Hindu communities, to change social behaviours and promote interfaith harmony, and works directly with communities to raise awareness of the harms of early and forced marriages.