Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they are making to the government of Pakistan to ensure that Pakistan’s quota system for jobs is not used to place workers from religious minorities in menial occupations.

We remain deeply concerned at the treatment of minority communities, including religious minorities, in Pakistan. As the Minister for Asia and the Pacific, The Rt Hon Mark Field MP, made clear in Parliament on 25 Oct 2018, "It is a priority for this Government to defend and promote the rights of not only Christians but peoples of all faiths and none so that they can practise their faith or belief without fear or discrimination".

We regularly raise our concerns about discrimination against religious minorities with the Government of Pakistan at a senior level. I discussed the treatment of minority religious communities with Pakistan's Human Rights Minister, Dr Shireen Mazari, in September 2018.

The UK raised concerns about Freedom of Religion or Belief at Pakistan's UN Universal Periodic Review of human rights in November 2017. We urged Pakistan to strengthen the protection of minorities, including by establishing an independent National Commission for Minorities from all faith communities.