Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Pakistani counterpart on transnational repression.

The UK strongly supports individuals' rights to expression without censorship, intimidation or unnecessary restriction, both in the UK and overseas. During my visit to Pakistan in November, I raised the importance of upholding civil and political rights with senior Ministers, including the Minister for Human Rights and Interior Minister. We will continue to urge the Government of Pakistan to respect these fundamental freedoms, underlining that any human rights violations should be fully investigated in line with international human rights law.